Holiday Lake 50k++ Race Recap

The most miserable race you'll ever love!

The Holiday Lake 50k ++ - "plus plus" since its notoriously longer than 50 kilometers.  I've heard some estimates are at 33 miles.  However, that's the thing with ultras, the course "is what is it" (okay, I hate that saying but it seems appropriate).  Its true though, you can't really think in terms of a distance PR, its just your time for that course on that day.  And this certainly held true last week at Holiday Lake.

Race: Holiday Lake 50k ++
Location:  Appomattox , VA
Date: Feb 15 , 2014
Finish Time: 6:09:40

First off, this race had a great "Ultra" feel to it.  We arrived the night before at Race HQ, set up in a community center at a 4H camp.  Opting for the on-site accommodations we were treated to hostel (or kids' camp) style bunk beds with a central bathhouse.  I slept surprisingly well.  Once morning arrived I went through the usual race day routines and we set off at promptly 6:30am.

This isn't an actual course picture (I didn't carry a camera), this is actually the result of a Google Image search for "snow ice slush mud".  Surprisingly, its a pretty good depiction of what the course looked like (at least in the "easy" sections).

On the way out there was a little more snow, about a foot that had been trampled down by the front runners.  Soon it would melt enough to create a soupy slush for us to run through.  To my own surprise, I got hot enough trudging up some of the hills to debate ditching my rain jacket.  I'm glad I held onto it, and ended up leaving at the mid-point aid station.  There was also a creek crossing with water up to your knees that we had to wade through.  It was numblingly cold but at the same time refreshing.  Even more refreshing was realizing we would go through it on the way back!  Oh, and did I mention that it was dark and freezing rain for the first hour?!

Most of the time you had two (miserable) choices: run through the melted (and often running like a mini-stream) path of ice-mud, or run on the less traveled sides that meant crushing through a foot of snow coated with ice.  Take your pick.  Ultra running isn't supposed to be easy, but while I've enjoyed most of my trail running in warm weather this type of choice had not yet occurred to me.

The course itself went up a 3/4 mile of road before it entered the trail.  There was a mix of singletrack running, jeep roads, and power line pathways briefly around Holiday Lake and then winding through the absolute middle of nowhere Virginia.  We eventually got back to the lake and returned to base camp at the half-way mark, only to turn around and make our way back counter-clockwise.

For the most part it was uneventful, just the way it should be, filled with conservative, steady miles of running.  I did notice an extreme drop off in runners on the way back though.  Around the marathon mark it was really getting tough.  I wasn't out of energy, but my toes were physically going numb which had me concerned.  I would stop every mile or so and swing my legs to get the blood back in my toes.  I kept pushing on, trying to make progress, and hoping the sun would come out enough to warm me up.  It was just a giant mental push on until about 30 or 31 miles in, at which point the thought of finishing made me so happy I had a burst of energy.  Once we finally popped back out onto the road I sprinted the final 3/4 of a mile, passing 3 more people in the process!

The Runner

Who is this David Horton character anyways?  Well, he is a pretty badass ultra runner, not just for his accomplishments but kind of for his originality and forward thinking in the sport.  He started ultra running before it was a "thing".  He was setting the records just for fun, some of which would later be broken but only by sponsored athletes only out there to break a record.  He is one of only a handful of people to complete the über difficult and culturally underground Barkley Ultra-Marathon.

A brief bio from Liberty, where he teaches:

Since 1977, Horton has ran approximately 160 ultra marathons (any race that exceeds the 26.2 mile marathon standard), 30 marathons coast to coast of the continental U.S. (1995) and holds the record for running both the Appalachian Trail (1991) and the Pacific Crest Trail (2005). Horton’s record-setting completion of the Appalachian Trail took 52 days and nine hours to complete – an average of approximately 41.7 miles per day.

With all this he is surprisingly down to Earth, even a bit feisty, characteristic of an everyday southern Gentleman.  He doesn't just relish in his accomplishments, but also encourages other to run and puts on some badass trail races in Virginia along the way.  Most runners simply refer to these Ultras as "Horton races".  Check out "The Runner" for a recap of his epic run on the 2,700 mile Pacific Crest Trail.

Horton and I after the finish.

All in all it was a fun time, and a memorable race - as long as I can mentally block out miles 23 - 29.  Beast Series Race #1 Done!

Brooks Transcend: New Shoe Review

Brooks Transcend

Brooks recently released a highly anticipated new shoe, the Transcend (or at least highly anticipated by me).

While its easy to write this off as a Hoka rip-off, it has some key differences.  Okay - first off - lets be clear, this is a pretty obvious response to the success of the huge soled Hoka OneOne shoes, and yet another sign that the "minimalist" movement was only a passing trend.  Sorry to everyone who became a victim of minimalist marketing and got injured as a result!  I loved what Hokas were doing for everyone but they just weren't doing it for me.  People also have a psychological tendancy to latch on to an alternative solution, hold it high on a podium, and "swear by it".  I on the other hand, maintain a decidedly skeptical viewpoint on just about anything.  This outlook can be both a gift and a curse

A little background:  when everyone was going ga-ga over the minimalist movement, a mostly marketing generated strategy to mimic the "natural" running experience, along came Hoka OneOne.  Hokas were anything but minimal with a huge sole and yet a fairly simple upper.  Though they let you run naturally it was more about letting you float over the roads and trails.  Instead of your knees and hips absorbing that impact the maximal cushioned sole was doing the work.  They were embraced by the UltraRunning community, as a cool, "different" alternative that just works.

I wanted to love Hokas, and I have worn them with varying success along the way, but I found that the running roads in them just doesn't work for me.  They are too "squishy" and offer little (if no) lateral support.  They could be the miracle shoe for some runners, those light on their feet with that perfectly neutral foot strike, but I wasn't able to shed my road runners injuries with them just yet.  I needed some stability, and something closer to a regular road running shoe.  Enter, the Transcend.

So far, the Transcend has been awesome for me!!  Its just the road shoe I was looking for, lots of features without being bulky, plenty of cushioning, and a little stability (on all sides) when you need it.  Brooks was having a promo launch event so I was able to snag some extra goodies too!

Transcends with extra freebies: A visor, shoe bag, and dry ice-cream!

As told by Brooks - The Transcend features five key technologies that work together to provide its unique ride: 

1. Super DNA – this advanced cushioning material provides the ultimate smooth ride that smartly adapts to your every stride. 
2. Guide Rails – specialized plates built into the midsole revolutionize traditional stability by allowing your hips, knees and joints to move along their unique motion path while you run – all without any traditional posts. 
3. Ideal Pressure Zones – transform the traditional idea of comfort by minimizing localized pressure evenly in the heel, midfoot and forefoot. 
4. Rounded Heel – aligns your stride naturally and easily. 
5. Plush upper – a combination of premium materials conforms to your foot for a custom, plush fit. 

It doesn't force the support on you like an Adrenaline or Trance, its just kind of there when you need it.  As the pictures show, the bottom part is all the same type of foam, and the support comes in the form of "guide rails" that promise you a touch of support in whatever direction you may roll.  It has lots of cushioning, but not so much that you forget what you are doing.

They aren't a super lightweight shoe, but they felt just fine with me.  I think the sample size is listed at 11.2 oz (roughly the same as a pair of hokas).  While this is a far cry from the insanely light Saucony Guides I also enjoy running in (at under 9 oz), the Transcends felt anything but heavy.  I'm not sure how a heavy heal striker would fare in these.  They have a slightly rounded heal to encourage a mid-foot strike, or at least transition each heal-strike more naturally into the next step.  For me, they were a great compliment to how I already run:  a mid-foot strike with a slight roll-in that I just can't seem to shake.

I'm really excited to take these off-road and see how they perform on trails.  I hope Brooks comes out with a trail version eventually, but they already feel solid in the little trail running I have done in them so the road model might be adequate.  The only thing I'm worried about is their lasting appeal with buyers.  I don't think they had the kind of blockbuster debut Brooks was hoping for, and if people stay weary of a "different" looking shoe these might only be temporary.  I plan on wearing these in my upcoming 50k, so I should be able to evaluate their trail worthiness after that!  Until then, I'll continue to tear up the pavement in these babies!

Update as of April 1st (and that's no joke...)

While the Transcends felt great on my feet, after about a month of running I started to develop knee pain in my left knee.  Its hard to tell what is the root cause, it could be overtraining, general fatigue, and the ultras I have been doing.  After scaling back my mileage, stretching and yoga routines, strength training, and cutting out speed work the knee pain has started to go away.  The biggest difference though is that I went back to wearing my normal shoes, that is:  Saucony Guide and Brooks PureCadence on the roads, and Hoka OneOne Rapa Nui (with SuperFeet Orange insoles) on the trails.  Maybe the transcends had too much stability and structure all around?  I got probably around 150 miles in on the Transcends before the knee pain required me to rethink everything.  I've done about 100 miles since then and the pain is all but gone.

As the primary root cause of my knee pain I can't really recommend the Transcends.