Sunday, November 15, 2009

Gobble! Gobble! Gobble! -The Liberation of Bent Creek


November 14, 2009
Somewhere in North Carolina

No, hoards of kamikaze turkeys are not swooping down in a pre-Thanksgiving surprise attack on the Bent Creek basin in the North Carolina dawn. Or are they? It’s the 3rd annual Gobbler 50k Fun Run hosted by Adam Hill and the NC ultra krazy runners I’ve come to enjoy hanging out with during my running tour of duty. The come back from several seasons of mostly minor but nagging injuries has waylaid me from a full 50ks worth of running fun for this event. So along with most of the kamikrazies, many deployed from very recent endurance events, I elect to complete only the first loop of 14-15 miles.

It’s a couple-plus hours drive down to south ███████ville, so I picked up Beth about 0530 and an old sickle moon carved our flight path through a thick fall fog down the Holston valley. We landed at Rick and Tammy’s base about 0630 and waited on Clifton to complete our crew, then we set out for Bent Creek across Sam’s Gap on I-26 in the IMTR family van. There was much exchange of trail war stories and running reconnaissance gossip to digest. ████ is newly wed, █████ is in the trenches of her second tri-mester, and █████ was engaged even as we spoke at the battle for a Richmond BQ as she strafed the marathon throngs with blue PowerAde in her wake. Beth and Rick had ran the Mountain Masochist 50mile +++(+) Trail Run just last weekend flanked by some stellar performances from folks of the northern Can-Alaska Alliance, and where our own IMTR Doug Blackford won the 60+ division.



We landed in the cool, deep November shadows of the Bent Creek forest awaited by many other ultra troops already bounding about in running shorts and shivers. When a full platoon had been mustered and the sun had taken the ridgeline to our east, Adam our commanding Gobbler, distributed maps and last minute instructions to have fun. We pulled out onto Bent Creek Gap road and took a quick left on FS 479M (that’s in code –sorry, but that’s all I can say). The road was generous in girth and chamfered neatly into the rocky ravines bobbing, dipping, and rising cautiously toward the eastern blueridge crest. I was disposed to be the tailgunner and sweep our trail markers, partly because I’m a back of the packer by nature, but today even more appropriately, I was destined to make some obligatory lower GI maneuvers in the bushes during the early stages of our campaign.

After about 6 miles I was much relieved to have completed this duty, caught up to and passed on the sweeping assignment to Martha and Gayle. Our path took a sharp turn on to the MST at the ridge crest espying the ████████ Parkway (again, sorry for the redaction). This is some great running single track perched for miles above 360° blue ridge vistas. I caught my 3 IMTR travel companions at a trail intersection, otherwise I would have inadvertently strayed on to the designated route. Our short cut stealthily tunneled through a rhododendron thicket along an easy grade banked with lush moss. Here, we suffered our only casualty. ███ took a K-9 landmine hit to her right shoe. We should have been paying more attention since we were approaching the Sleepy Gap Overlook on the Parkway where many non-pedestrians park. Apparently, they allow their K-9 troops to relieve themselves at will along the trail.

When our casualty had recovered her composture, we took an even more onerous short cut down and down and down a trail that eventually brought us to a point exactly where we were 4 miles earlier in the loop. Things still looked safe and secure so we went back up and up and up and up. We made it back to the MST unscathed by additional short cuts but somewhat more depleted of troop strength. The predefined path emerged back onto Bent Creek Gap road at the gap’s overpass tunnel. It was only a steep 1.5 miles back down to our base. We cooled and restored hot, tired muscles in the little mountain creek that is Bent, ate and drank our field rations, and headed home.

███

Friday, September 18, 2009

Bays Mountain Trail Run

Tomorrow is the Bays Mountain 15 Mile Trail Race. Great Run organized by Mark Skelton http://www.runtricities.org/.
Last year there were 103 participants, I expect there will be more this year.
I had a horrible race there in 2007, got "misplaced", and had a bad fall. 2008 was a touch better, however I did manage to stay on the course and remain upright :)

I wish I could say 2009 was going to the the year, but considering how my legs have felt the past two weeks I'm just going to chalk this one up to another training run. Looking forward to getting out there and seeing everyone tomorrow! I love Bays Mtn. (http://www.baysmountian.com/)
GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE RUNNING TOMORROW!


Here is the crew before last years race, minus Eric and Robin

Eric and Robin coming across the Dam.

Good Luck to Nick as he heads to Douthat State Park for the Odyssey Trail Marathon!!

Happy Trails to you.........

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Up to Speed

Thought I would make an effort to bring everyone in blog land up to speed on the happenings since the last post... A lot has happened since July :)

The weekend after Rattlesnake was a lovely 15.5 mile run in the Grayson Highlands area. We met on an unseasonalby cool July 18th morning @ the Elk Garden parking area. It was verry COOL and super foggy, not really what we were expecting, but then again you can get just about anything when your in the high country. We scraped up what "cold weather gear" we could, snapped a photo and got moving. JJJ, JennyD, Joey, Christina and I were looking forward to a day of exploring some new territory and revisiting some well known areas. Christina took off on a solo hiking mission and had to battle some aggerssive cattle and shoe sucking mud on the Helton Creek Trl. I had been S on the AT from Elk Garden but had never been N so I was excited to fill in a gap between Mt. Rogers and Elk Garden. We quickly warmed up on the climb and had to take several breaks to make sure of potential navigational errors, it was very rocky, wet going at first which slowed things down until we reached the Mt. Rogers Trl. and Lewis Fork Trl. We took Lewis Fork Trl, which is a designated Horse trail to Old Orchard Shelter and got back on the AT. Lewis Fork Trl is wide and a bit rocky but we were able to open it up and get some running in here before climbing up from Old Orchard to the Pine Mtn Trl. Once we popped up onto Pine Mtn. the fog lifted and the sun was shining and it was like a crisp beautiful fall day in JULY! what a treat. we had a snack and proceeded on in hopes of finding some ponies. I was determined to find them since it was JennyDs first Grayson experience, it just wouldn't be complete w/o pony time! We were in luck and found a nice group of friendly ponies who seemed to want to follow us on our journey. Time wasn't on Joey's side so he headed back to meet Christina while we dilly dallied, smelling the roses along the way. There is just too much eye candy and rocks to really run up there :) we took lots of photos and really enjoyed coming back down.. after Thomas Knob shelter the trail was pretty much a creek and wonderful little waterfalls were making new paths down the mountainside from the large amounts of rain we had gotten. It was just a wonderful day to be out, I am never disappointed when we run in this area, the scenery is unbeatable!


July 25th : IMTR training run. FS90-Skulls Gap

Rick, Tammy, Doug, Martha, Eva, Dennis, JennyD, me. It had been a good while since I had done this section and we thought it would be nice for Eva to check it out before the Iron Mountain Race. It's not an easy section and a lot of people commented on race day that it felt long. Once we made it back to FS90-12mi later, where the vehicles were parked Eva, Tammy and Martha opted to head back while the rest of us were looking to get in around 20mi headed off to check out some unexplored territory we've been meaning to check out for way too long. We took back up the IMTR a very short distance then took a left on the Rush Creek Trl. I will def. be making my way back there, it was wonderful. Very runnable, slightly down, along the creek, super nice. At the bottom we took another left onto the Sawmill Trl. also very nice, with a slight very runnable uphill grade. Sawmill intersects Buzzard Den which connects into Wrights Hollow, we had planned on checking those out as well but it was a unanimous group decision to cut it a bit short and head on back to the van. We were pretty much beat after the 18mi we did cover and there was no better way than to refuel at Fatties w/ some cold beer and burgers. If you're ever in Damascus be sure to check them out, they have awesome food and a deck outback by the river.



July 31st: Rick and I met for my first taste of night running. Left Dtown and headed up Mock Hollow 8:30 pm. Took the IMTR out to FS90 and back. Ran into 2 jack russel terriors, a lab and a friendly hiker sleeping@ Sandy Flats Shelter. It pretty much rained if not poured rain most of the time and was very foggy. It felt very good to face my fear of night running and we had a great time. Once we got going I was fine and really enjoyed it. Got done about 12:30.



August 2nd : Looked out the door and JJJ was running down the street so I stuck my head out..."hey you wanna run?" I asked how far? "trying for 20, running to damascus 17 mile mark and back on the creeper" sure why not, sounds better than staying at home and doing chores :) we took off at a good clip and felt fairly good until the open section on the creeper right along the road as you enter damascus. Took a gel and kept trucking. We made it to the spring along 58 to refill our bottles and ran into JennyD who was running from dtown up towards whitetop. I ran w/ her for a bit and chatted then made it back to sundog where I found JJJ and some fairly large rain drops> we stood under the awning for a while. me: you ready to run back? JJ: not so much me: oh come on we've made it this far whats 10 more *insert eye roll* and we're off. Pretty much a death march back. We were hot and tired and just all around over it. Slogging out flat miles on the creeper trail will crush a persons will to hammer out a good run at time.



August 3rd: Hiked the Profile Trail Grandfather Mountain


August 8th: Grayson Highlands Blueberry picking


August 9th: Met Doug, Martha, Rick, Dennis@ Price Park



Dennis, me, Doug - Ship Rock, NC


Martha shuttled us to Beacon Heights and we ran in on the Tanawha Trail. I had hiked this many moons ago in college and was excited to revisit the trail as a "runner" It's a really great trail, not the most runnable of all trails but some great views along the way. We had a good time but I just felt down right sluggish and was glad when we cut a few miles off the end. Everyone had to get going so I made it back into Boone for lunch where my friend Emily was working and then made it back to Alvarado in time for an afternoon paddle down the south fork from Iron Horse Dam. Not a bad Sunday!







(jennyD giving out prizes/awards and her son sweet little Todd)


August 10th: The 2nd Todd Richardson Memorial 10K- Wonderful race directed by one of our very own IMTR's Jenny Richardson in memory of her brother who was tragically killed in a mining accident. She puts a lot of time and effort into making this a very special day, for family, friends, runners, and some of Todd's co-workers come to remember and celebrate Todd's life. It's an out and back on the creeper trail with proceeds going towards the Christopher Todd Richardson Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship has a focus on helping students majoring in: geology, geophysics, environmental science, mining engineering or some other energy related fields. There are wonderful technical tshirts designed by Jenny, and unique finishers awards and many sweet door prizes. This year age group awards were precious medal clay necklaces, very cool and overall awards were amazing pottery mixing bowls. Both locally made! It was another successful year w/ 113 participants.








August 22nd: My 3rd trip to Dupont Forest for the 4th annual Dupont Waterfall Extravaganza hosted by Adam hill and the Asheville crew. I always look forward to running w/ these guys and catching up w/ everyone. This run is "Stellar" as Adam would say :) You get to see 6 very impressive waterfalls and soak in cool mountain streams, while getting a free waterfall massage to loosen up those tired muscles. There is a 10 mile loop option or a 22mile option. Rick, Doug, and I took the long way around while Tammy, JennyH, Henry and Martha enjoyed the 10 mile loop with some new recruits Martha had brought over from Boone. We all met back in the parking lot which was empty when we left that morning and over flowing down the road when we got back. I made some cucumber dip and banana bread, there were plenty of snacks and cold beverages to go around. I look forward to this run every year!






More Dupont Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iron.Mtn.Trail.Runners/Dupont2009#


August 29th: Jonesborough 5K- We were camping on the Nolichucky for the weekend so I decided to go over to Jonesborough about a 10min. drive from the campground and do the 1st Jonesborough Parks and Rec 5K. I had run the Jingle Bell 5k (25:09)there in 2005 but hadn't been back since and the course is laid out a bit different for this race. Neither are PR courses as they are both hilly and tough. This go round I finished in 23:41 which was good enough for 1st female, but nowhere close to where I'd like to be. It was a great way to start the day, nice and cool and a light drizzle out. I ran into the nicest couple there and as we chatted I just kept feeling like I knew the man, sure enough after the race as we continued to talk I the cobwebs cleared long enough for me to remember! oh yeah, he works at a campground and drove shuttle for us on a rafting trip one time. It was great to talk with he and his wife, then I walked down to a coffee shop after the awards and filled up and peeped in some of the shops before heading back. I would like to go back one day for lunch and some shopping, it is just the cutest town and home to the depot street brewery!




August 30th - Met JennyD in dtown, we parked at Straight Branch and did one of my favorite loops. AT-Feathercamp-IMTR-Beartree Gap Trl-FS834(SandersTrl)-AT. Great Day out on the trail. Ran into a mysterious "floating leaf" coming down the AT. Got off a little shy of Straight Branch onto the creeper and I stubbed my toe on a little rock. Instead of just falling I seized up and pulled something in my right leg, not a good choice. I have been having trouble since then.





September 5th: Iron Mountain Trail Races: 16,30,50 Mile Options. I worked the FS90 AS w/ Tammy while JennyD, Lone Wolf, and Donna ran the 16miler and Rick did the 50. We had a fun day cheering on the runners, talking to crew memebers, and visiting. We also got to do some running and swept from FS90 in after the last runner. Jenny won the 16 miler overall!! everyone did awesome out there. It was a beautiful day for a race and for spectating!




September 12th: Bays Mountain Group Run- We went over the course for the 15 miler that will be held this coming weekend. Rick, Tammy, JJ, JennyD, and Josh. I always enjoy running in the park, climbing the firetower, the old homesteads, and finishing around the lake. This is a tough race, lots of climbing in the begining, it's fast, it's hot! My legs were feeling awful and even with my prerun IBU I had to push thru the discomfort. Hoping something gives before next weekend. Check out JennyD and JJJ Blogs for a recap and photos.http://jendenichols.blogspot.com/

Friday, August 14, 2009

Rattlesnake 50K

15th Annual
Rattlesnake Trail 50k
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Charleston, WV

I'm a month behind on this blog but I wanted to post a short report on a wonderful race directed by Dennis Hamrick. It was my second time @ Rattlesnake and I was really looking forward to the race this year. We had a great time there last year and were not disappointed the second time around. It's a very low key race, held in Kanawha State Park. You have the option to camp in the park the night before or there are plenty of hotels nearby in Charleston if you prefer a bed prerace. Tammy, Rick, Will, Chris, Tucker and I loaded the family van Friday afternoon and enjoyed the ride up, catching up and reminiscing about last years race.
Here is a shot of the Family Van Hydration Station :)

We decided to hit up Olive Garden as we did last year and then made our way to the hotel. Olive Garden took a bit more time than we anticipated but we were unloaded and bedded down at a reasonable hour, only to be awoken by the alarm a few short hours later. It's interesting what you will see in a Charleston WV hotel parking lot @ 4am! other than some crazy runners, packing bag after bag, getting sprayed down w/ bug spray, and taking pictures of their shoes? (Tucker was in charge of the bug spray, it was a nice addition to all of this Orange Texas gear) however weird this may be, I think it was mild to the other story that was unfolding in the parking lot?? Luckily we didn't disturb anyone and were on our way in no time....
The drive from Charleston to the park is short and easy and we were some of the first to arrive (thanks to Rick :) I hadn't preregistered so I took care of business, easy peasy, and continued on with prerace rituals as other runners drifted in... Tucker our "OFF" man, took a minute away from his bug duties to snap several shots of the motley crew, looking a little unsure of the task at hand ;)

Then as these things go, the race director said a few words as everyone anxiously awaited the start and before you knew it we were off on another 50K journey...



Last year several people got lost??turned around???off course???? Chris happened to be one of those folks so we took a minute to review the large course map by the registration table and try and decipher where confusion comes in..... There are a series of 10 climbs, basically you climb....run a bit on a FS type road then turn back down. This is where you can get off course, as you're picking up some speed on these ridges, feeling good about actually doing some running, it's easy to strike up conversation, or get caught in a day dream, and miss the exit ramp :) This year was no different, I heard rumor of several people missing a turn and getting off course. Soooo, other than that everything is pretty straight forward, CLIMB, run, Turn, Downhill, AS, CLIMB, run, Turn, Downhill, AS and so on and so forth 10 times :) I like the set up of having an AS at the bottom of every downhill and then a bit of winding thru the park before you start another climb. You can refill, grab some food, and regroup, and you always know when they are coming. These Climbs are no joke, not the runnable climbs, or the climbs you can get a good power walk going on, they are the climbs that have you on your toes, and add some heat and some miles and the last several are just brutal. The downhills are no joke either, very steep, leg trashing downhills.
As always it was great to see some familiar faces and meet some new people. I had a great time, and felt good all day. With the race being entirely in the park, it makes it easy for people to drive to each AS, so it was nice to have the head handler there at each AS checking on us and cheering us on. I was able to take 20 min. off my time from last year so I was a happy camper. I saw a bear maybe a 1/4 mile from the finish line, my 6th bear sighting this year. Tucker was there at the finish w/ the van while Tammy ran in with Chris. We cheered in Rick and Will and Chris then headed to the pool for a nice coool dip. It was nice to get cooled off and cleaned up before heading back. Great T-shirts this year, a stainless steel water bottle w/ logo, and a glass hershey kiss (a neat unique finishers award) mine was purple and clear. Last year we got great mini duffel's and a fiesta ware cup, always something neat and useful. This is a well organized, challenging 5oK I would highly recommend.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

IMTR met in DAMascus for an Iron Mt/AT loop. The NC side of the family mostly wanted some moderate mileage ahead of next weekends Grandfather Mt. Marathon at the Highlands games. Annette had gotten there earlier than the rest of the NC gang and ran twelve by herself as she's dialing in on the VT100 in few weeks. Beth is doing Rattlesnake 50k next weekend in WV. Martha and Lou stayed on the Creeper for a scenic 15k. I'm just hoping to break back into double digits since alot of winter and spring have been devoted to injury.
From Water St. parking, Annette set the pace for the first 4 miles so we wouldn't dillydally up Mock Holler and down toward Straight Branch. She split and returned on the Creeper Trial so she could keep her speed up for training and finished with her third day of 20's. Doug and Dennis pulled the remaining 4 of us, Beth, Eva, Ed and myself, up Feathercamp Branch Trail back to the Iron Mt Trail at Sandy Flats. Doug appeared pretty well recovered from his age division win at the Big Horn 100 a few weeks ago -I couldn't stay in sight of him.
The light rain we started in had finally gotten the trees good and soaked and we were pretty well soaked by mid point, but the temperture was just right for it and made for very pleasant summer running in Virginia jungle. The trail is sandy clay or sand and rock -not much mud and muck to contend with. I don't know the exact stats but my map program called it 14+ miles 3725' g/l elevation (2800' seems more accurate to me). Time was over three hrs.
I will say Nike Frees are not the best trail shoe for any distance much longer than this on a moderately technical trail. But I dont have any sandals with a good toe strap to minimize lateral slip, so I made do. I'm thinking about a kit from Barefoot Ted to hopefully remedy the situation. They were good at keeping me on my toes. I didn't fall or bruise my arch, so I guess they did alright over all.
We convened at Mojoe's where Gypsy made coffee and wraps for us.

Good Luck IMTR racers,
JJJ

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

High in the Highland Sky





Highland Sky is near and dear to me for a variety of reasons but mainly because I wanted to run it as my first ultra in 2003. I wisely knew that I would be in over my head and decided to start running ultras after a few marathons and a few years of hard/smart training. I finally made it on the starting line in 2006, which happened to co-exist with one the hottest days on record for the Dolly Sods area. I finished, barely. It opened my eyes to a whole new world of ultra running. I’d never quite run through terrain anything like it. I came back in 2007, but had a miserable day from hard training (I somehow deviated from ‘smart’ training). I opted out of Highland Sky in 2008 when the weather was good and I missed out racing in course record race. I vowed to return in 2009 to conquer the mountain.
My training was terrific for the most part of 2008/2009 but no results to back it up. I DNF’d at Frosty 50k in Winston Salem, NC in January; DNF’d at Mount Mitchell 40 Miler in Black Mountain, NC due to hypothermia; and DNF’d at Bull Run Run 50 mile in Manassas, VA in April. I vowed to try one more ultra before taking a 4-6 week break from running to allow some bursitis to heal in my foot. I managed to squeeze in an excellent 6 week block of training with two road races thrown in the mix for variety. Both times in road races I came close to running a PR and was well beaten in them, but came away knowing I was ready for Highland Sky – which was my goal. The difference between road racing and ultra racing is the difference between listening to Twisted Sister and Billy Joel. One, you have to be fired up and revving to go in a road race. In an ultra, you must contain that energy for the long haul and wait to unleash your move.
My move at Highland Sky 2009 occurred at mile 12 on the steep descent after aid station #2. The race was typical up until this point, surviving the nettle patches and hidden rocks. Highland Sky is also special to me because it is much like a life metaphor. Smooth start on the road (like being born/childhood), then climbing up very steep escarpments with stinging nettle (the joy’s of adolescence, stormy/unpredictable), then rolling up and down as the fatigue begins to occur (like ups and downs of adult life). I was running with Bill Young and Tim Driscoll in this section. I was well aware of Tim as he had the Iron Mountain 50 Miler in Damascus, VA in the bag last year (I was working an aid station) but got lost in the late stages and also netted a 4th place 6:37 time last year at Highland Sky (smoking fast) and who can forget “Big” Bill Young as I like to call him. He’s my ultra running idol. He’s a man who works hard (even making the cover of a large coal magazine), makes time for his family, yet still finds time to train and kick butt. He’s tough beyond description. My friend, Bradley Mongold told me to stick with Bill for a while before making my move in the race. I thought to myself, “Stick with him? I’m trying to just hang on!”
I finally started to feel good and made my move and soon caught sight of fast Aaron Schwartzbard. There was no catching him though, as soon as we hit the Highland Sky road, he was gone. His superior marathon speed is flawless and I knew I would not catch him. I proceeded to enjoy the Dolly Sods area as sun, rain, and hail all occurred within three miles. Amazing! Nonetheless, the effort of the first 25 miles had taken their toll and I knew I was running to maintain my position and 2nd place. I ran and walked and trudged my way to the finish line with 2nd place and elation at having a seat and my fiancée Maria by my side. She has tolerated a lot of my training time and it finally showed I am capable of a good finish and not a DNF. Dan Lehmann takes pride in his race (another reason for my love of this race) and you can tell he enjoys this task immensely. Back in my road racing days I always stated that WV was the best state with the best races and this race holds true to that. I love WV so much that I even had to go out and find me a WV woman and Maria is all about her state pride and enjoyed the race from her perspective as much as I did; all in all a very blessed weekend.

Nick Whited

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

PW @ The Varmint 1/2 Marathon

This is a really old post I started, but since I think this is a great event and had every intention of getting this up on the blog I'm going to go ahead and post it even if it was TWO months ago :)

The 16th Annual Varmint 1/2 Marathon was held this past Saturday in Burkes Garden (Burke's Garden is a small community in Tazewell County, Virginia, located in the bowl of a large valley known for its fertile land. The valley, also called Burke's Garden and sometimes referred to as "God's Thumbprint", is the bed of an ancient sea. The oval shaped valley resembles a large volcanic crater from satellite photographs; however, the valley formed when underground limestone caverns collapsed beneath it. The valley is the highest in Virginia at 3,000 feet above sea level; it is completely surrounded by Garden Mountain.) Check it out on Google Maps, you can see the crater like impression from the aerials and terrain view very well . Below is an aerial shot I found online:So despite the 2 hr. drive from my house and the fact that it's all on paved roads there is a certain draw to the race, it's a beautiful spot for a race and the fact that it's a small farming community keeps the traffic down....I mean way down. You may see a couple cars but they are usually race spectators who are very aware of the event and very cautious. As an added bonus to the beauty and tranquility of the venue, there are special awards!! the oh so coveted sheep trophies are a big deal :) Everyone wants a cute little cuddly sheep, or BIG Sheep for that matter! the sheep trophies increase in size according to place (I'm still waiting for my big break and my BIG sheep) and a t-shirt every year with a great cartoon drawing of the "Varmint" up to no good, wreaking havoc on the valley and it's beloved sheep.

The only problem with obtaining one of the coveted sheep is that this course is NOT for the faint of heart. It always seems to be super hot and humid and the hills unforgiving. The first two years I ran consistent times 1:46:36, then 1:46:57, however consistent they are about 4 min. off my usual 1/2 marathon times, avg. 1:42. I think this is a pretty solid indicator of the difficulty of this course. I think the heat has a lot to do with the equation and the hills are most certainly a factor. So what was added to the equation or maybe removed this year that caused me to slow even more, 1:48:45? I guess that is always the question, if we knew the perfect equation that worked every time we could just follow that and always enjoy perfect race results! there are just too many factors, controllable and uncontrollable to manage. I think the #1 problem for me on this particular day/course was the lack of training. Yeah I have covered a lot of miles since the last Varmint, but not fast miles, not miles where your really pushing the pace. I hadn't run a road race since the Varmint last year and have spent most of my time trail running which I don't think translates into fast road times unless you throw some speed work and such in the mix (which I don't do). #2 fuel intake. The list of excuses is Long people :) so I won't bore you with anymore analyzing of the days events. There are always some fast folks and this is a tough course! I highly recommend to anyone looking for a fun and challenging 1/2.