Running Dirty!

 

Pre-race photo

Daddy stayed clean today because he earned a well deserved rest weekend after his 50K

About a year ago, I did my first Run Amuck and the boys did a mini Run Amuck.  I'm normally not a fan of obstacle or mud runs.  I think they are a big gimmick, overcrowded, not necessarily safe, and I'd rather get dirty on the trails.  I make an exception for Marine Corps Run Amuck because the Marines always put on a great and safe race, and I love that they make it a family friendly event.

Our shoes were clean when we started

 The boys had talked for a year about doing this race again.  Zman was signed up for the full 3.5 mile course, and Nickel had originally been signed up for the mini course (1.5 miles).  Nickel changed his mind race morning and wanted to go for the full thing so the three of us lined up to start the full course.  We were treated to a Marine Corps band as they raised the colors (apparently the building in the background is the building that is in the intro to the old TV show Major Dad).

We were in the first wave to start, but we waited around forever.  This is the one big negative that I have about this race is that they started the race with an inflatable obstacle.  It had a wall to get over, but because of the rain the night before it was slippery and no one could really get over the wall so it was taking forever to get people through.  I know they were trying to spread the runners out, but it was really irritating.

Anyway, once we got through the inflatable mess.  I looked at the boys and said "Let's do what we do best.  Run!"  So we took off down the road at a good pace passing a bunch of people who were walking already within the first half mile.  The next part of the race was so much fun.  First we hit a giant slip and slide into Butler Stadium.  I actually wanted to repeat this obstacle because it was so much fun, but we kept moving.  We ran the stadium stairs and then hit a small tire drill.  Then we got to rappel by rope into the bottom of the stadium and then run back up the stairs.  The boys were handling this like pros and were keeping up with me.  Then we went under the fire engine hose.

See how much fun we are having!

Then we hit the trails and were making pretty good time on the trail run.  We did an a-frame and hurdled some hay bales and then hit the first PT station which was flutter kicks.
 

ZMan taking off after the A-Frame wall

Then we hit another tire drill and a tunnel crawl.

There was a small outbreak of tears at this point due to some mud in an eye and a little consternation over being so dirty, but we worked through it and were having fun again by the time we hit the water station around 1.5 miles.  Then it got real.  I knew this would be the hardest part for the kids because we hit Firebreak Trail which features some climbs which are daunting for little legs.  We scaled the first one with not much problem and hit the first water point.  It was pretty deep, but ZMan made it through on his own.  I helped Nickel through and had to carry him in a few deep parts. 

Zman making it through the mud pit

Then we hit Stadium trail and did a Spider Web which was pretty cheesy, but the kids thought it was fun.  The second PT station was jumping jacks and then the ammo can carry.  The Marines gave Nickel a pass because the cans were 10 lbs each.  Zman could have taken a pass as well, but he wanted to do it so he grabbed both cans and made it through the carry with them.  I was shocked and proud of him!  Nickel got to pass the monkey bars because they were too high and far apart for his little arms.  Zman got a boost by a Marine and made it across with minimal help.  Then came a series of hills which seemed to go on and on, but the kids did well with them and kept pushing.

Nickel waiting at the top of the hill for us.

You can see the second mud pit at the bottom of the hill.

 Our shoes were really heavy and muddy at this point, and it was getting hard for little legs to make it up the hills.  Luckily some of the hills had cargo nets because they were pretty slippery.  Finally we hit the last water station and saw our friends who were working there.  We rinsed some mud off of our shoes and then headed back out for the last little piece. We hit push ups at the last PT station, went through some wrecking balls and had to belly crawl through more mud.

Ready to belly crawl through mud.

 Then we slid down a mudslide and headed to the finish.

Nickel on the mudslide

We got Run Amuck finisher coins and towels at the end.  

My only other complaint about the race is that they didn't have any facilities to hose off at the end.  In previous years we have hit a fire hose obstacle at the end of the race to rinse all of the mud off.  So we were a bit of a mess at the end.

They did have nice tents where we could change, but we were so filthy that it was almost pointless to change.  I also liked that we could donate our shoes.

Changing tents and shoe donation bin

Overall we had a really fun time.  I would do it again if the kids wanted to do it because it was a fun family experience, but I wouldn't do it again as a personal experience.

Why It's Called the North Face Endurance Challenge: North Face Half Marathon (or 14.5 Miles)

Even though today was my wedding anniversary, I was up early and out the door for the North Face Half Marathon.  I had hydrated all night so was pretty much recovered from the previous day's 50K crewing efforts and was ready to go again.

Daddy Crew from June 1

We had to take a shuttle bus to the start at Great Falls. The bus ride was when the hilarity ensued.  Our bus was the first one into the park.  An overzealous ranger attempted to tell the bus driver that we would need to pay $5 per person to get into the park.  After a bit of back and forth and some phone calls, that silliness was resolved.  I was the first bus in so I had really good access to the portapotties and got everything taken care of early.  This was a good thing because the potty lines got extremely long and ended up delaying race start time by 10 minutes.  It was pretty warm and there is a 6.7 mile stretch on the course with no aid stations so I had elected to wear my Nathan vest.  The goal for the race was to get in around 3 hours, to feel good, and have fun.  Due to the heat, carrying 50 oz of water, and extensive single tracking sections, I had no plans to try for a PR.

I met up with some moms from local Moms Run This Town chapters.

 Then I found some the group that I was planning to run with.  I'm so glad that I decided to run in a group rather than solo because this would have been a miserable day running solo.

 We messed around getting into our proper wave and were rewarded by getting to snap a photo with Dean Karnazes.

We all started in wave 8 so we were near the back and expecting some crowded conditions.  It actually wasn't too bad in the beginning.  We ran what was supposed to be a 2.4 mile loop on carriage roads and fairly wide and flat trail.  This spread the field out a little. 

This smile on my face was pretty much the story of my race.  I was having so much fun that nothing was going to ruin it.

We hit an aid station and grabbed some quick water.  At this point, it became clear that anyone not carrying hydration was in for a bad day.  Our plan was to walk the hills and keep a consistent pace on the flats, hydrate well at the aid stations, and try to stick together in at least pairs.  We ran through Great Falls and were treated to a stunning view.
Splits:  Mile 1:  10:14; Mile 2:  11:04; Mile 3:  13:37 (includes short stop at aid station)-Time:  34:55 

Next up was a brutal 6ish mile section with no aid.  The Nathan pack was a lifesaver at this point.  I was hydrating well and feeling strong.  During this section we came out of Great Falls and hit the Potomac Heritage Trail.  Parts of the trail were so narrow that it felt like we were in a corn maze.

Best race photo ever because it shows how our group worked together all day.  We even picked up a random woman runner who wanted to pace with us.

Shortly after this section we passed a bonfire that was some kind of weird hobo camp...very creepy.

 The stinging nettles were heavy on either side so it was difficult to pass.  We got hung up in this section behind lots of walkers when we would have preferred to run.  There was a water crossing with a steep embankment.  You could avoid the muddy bank buy crossing on some branches, but less experienced trail runners hadn't figured that out and were trying to crawl up the slippery, muddy bank.  We stopped and helped pull a few up and gave some advice to those who were behind them to use the fallen trees.  We were passing when we could and hit the Fraser Preserve Aid Station at what was supposed to be 8.4 miles, but everyone was getting readings on their Garmins that were in the 9 mile range. Time into the aid station was 2:03 so ~4 miles in about an hour was doable to get in around 3 hours. No one was freaking out yet as we were thinking that the aid station was just mismarked as to mileage.  The aid station was actually pretty weak as they were out of electrolyte fluid and the water was cold.  Thankfully, I had carried my own Endurolyte and Honey Stingers Chews (I prefer the pink lemonade) so I really didn't need anything from the aid station.  We snapped some photos and regrouped and headed back out.

Mile 4:  14:21; Mile 5:  13:06; Mile 6:  14:50; Mile 7:  17:50 (bad climb; lots of single tracking and walkers; stream crossing where we stopped to help some runners); Mile 8:  12:44; Mile 9:  13:24; Mile 10:  18:51 (includes aid station stop) Total time:  2:08

Three of us were feeling pretty strong so we picked up the pace a bit out of this section.  We knew there was a brutal hill coming so we wanted to make the best time on the flats that we could.  We were still thinking 3 hour range based on what our Garmin readings were.  We hit the killer hill and hiked up that pretty well given how far into the race we were.  We were able to take off running again after that and hit the Sugarland Aid Station at what was supposed to be 11.7 miles.  All of our Garmins read almost 13 at somewhere around 2:54.  We actually thought that they had gotten rid of the aid station because we were so far past 11.7 miles. 

We were expecting to be almost done.  We grabbed some water, got splashed, and then headed out for 1.6 more miles according to the signage.  The running at this point was pretty easy on carriage roads, but it was really disappointing to see the 3 hour mark come and go as we kept clicking off the mileage.
 Mile 11:  18:06 (lots of walking due to last major ascent/descent); Mile 12:  13:19; Mile 13:  13:19-Total time:  2:54

Loved the water monster at the finish festival

I finally spotted the finish line and crossed at 3:17:52 with a final Garmin reading of 14.5 miles.  I was 33 of 46 in my age group, 240 of 333 females, and 619 of 772 overall.

 The placement was not really important in this race as I wasn't really racing.  I was just hoping for a good training run.  I feel like I accomplished that.  I felt strong at the end despite the longer than anticipated mileage and hot conditions.  I had a good strategy for fuel, electrolytes and hydration.  I stayed positive and used the power of a group to enjoy the run and get through some tougher sections.  Although I could have run harder in some sections and likely could have done the course in 3 hours even given the extra miles, I'm really happy with the effort this week.

  I have Run Amuck and EX2 Off Road Half coming up next weekend so it was important not to burn the legs up too much.

Here's the elevation chart.

Total mileage 14.5; avg pace 13:38 (includes aid stations and photo ops!)
Mile 14:  11:07 (strong finish); Last 0.5; 10:02

North Face 50k Endurance Challenge - Washington, DC Race report

So the time had arrived for the North Face 50k (Washington, DC) in Sterling, VA and I had been looking forward to running my second 50k since last December where I ran the Seashore Trail 50k.  About a month ago, I ran the Blue Ridge marathon as a training run for this race.  Well, just so happened the BR marathon put a little more of a hurting on my right knee than I wanted.  So much so, I ran my last 20 two weeks and hardly ran until race day...Not exactly the optimum situation going into an unknown 50k.  Additionally, I have been getting treatment for tendonitis in the knee for two weeks and it was just starting to feel better.  It didn't really bother me much on the short runs so I figured I would give it a shot.  Furthermore, all my long runs have been in cool to moderate temps.  So I am watching the weather all week and they are calling for 90+ on Saturday, the day of the race.  So the day finally gets here and Heather, the boys, and me head down to Sterling, VA to this parking lot where the buses will pick us up.  As usual, I am always paranoid of being late, so we get here at the crack ass of dawn.  This is a picture of me putting Vaseline on my feet before we get on the bus:

I'll skip the pic of me lubing up the other areas of the body....So after 5 runs to the dumper in the parking lot where it is flowing out of my ass like water, I get on the bus and head over to the start with the family.

We get there and yep, you know it, have to hit the dumper again:

The race is at 7am so we got there a tad early but not knowing the bus schedule, I didn't want to take any chances.  After some pics from heather, meeting up with another runner friend of mine, Eric, we finally get going.  

This is a pic of me moments from starting....

and we are off:

As I mentioned before, the temperature when I woke up at 3am was 70F so that told me this was going to be a hot one.  I figured I was fit enough to handle it - didn't matter how fit you were...you would be fighting the heat all day.  Heather and I debated/argued about whether to take the handheld or the Nathan hydration pack.  I said I would run with the handheld until mile 12.7 and then pick up the Nathan pack when I got to Great Falls Aid Station (AS).  Conversely, she wanted me to use the hydration pack the whole way.  Well, I did it my way and paid a dear price.  The first 5.7 miles was uneventful and the pace was dictated by whomever was leading the single track trail.  Meaning, you really couldn't pass people that well without expending a ton of energy.  I drank a little water for the first 5.7 -  Here is some pictures of me during the first 5.7 miles of the race:

The guy on my left was Juan, some random I met during the race.

We took it out slow b/c you knew it was going to be a scorcher. 

During this run to Great Falls AS, we would be mostly on single track terrain.  At one point, we were going through 5 foot tall grass and a woman and horse came through and I am thinking WTF lady...there was absolutely no room to run, you had zero room on the trail to go left or right...just one of the many odd things we saw during the run...This lengthy run across some difficult terrain would put my small handheld bottle to the test.  We passed some great views the Potomac river, a beautiful house on your right, and thats about it.  About ~2 miles from the Great Falls AS, you got it, I ran out of water.  Here is a few shots about 2-3 miles out from the 12.7 mile marker:

Where is that Aid Station again?

Did someone turn on the heater, damn.

Only 20+ more miles to go :(

It wasn't the end of the world... however, it was starting to get quite toasty out most likely reaching the upper 80s and finally reached 94 later that day.  I finally got to Great Falls AS and heather had the Nathan pack ready.  This is a picture of the Great Falls AS:

What you didn't see is the other AS down the road so essentially, there were two AS.  The 50 milers do the Great falls loop 3 times where as the 50k runners do it only once (thank god).  So they put an AS for the 50 milers up close so that each time they came through, they could hit the other one first.  I hit both, why not :) Later, when I would return, it would be packed with people watching the race and ambulances.  During this section of the run, you would see people holding hands, bike riding and I'm thinking, its to damn hot to be out there.  And when I say there were people out on the Great falls course, I meant a shit load of people, enough to make it tough to run.  Add in the 50 milers, 50k and marathon runners all looping back, it was packed.  By the time I got to Great Falls AS, the 12.7 mile marker, it had taken me 02:23:01.  Yes, you read it right, that was crazy slow but the heat was starting to make itself know and lack of water was beginning to have an effect.  So after some oranges, a pretzel, and water from Heather, I was off through the Great Falls loop which dragged us up and down some pretty vicious hills.

 This is me heading out from the 12.7 mile marker at Great Falls AS.

Here are some pictures of those 8 miles from Great Falls and back...As you can see, very little running was being done here...

Now where is the damn trail at?

Are they F'ing serious?

This is just straight bullshit :)

Additionally, it felt like we ran the entire length of Great falls itself.  I would finally get back to Heather and Dora at the 19.3 mile mark - time here was a snails pace 3:56:45 - 4 hours to run 20 miles, easily the slowest I have ever run in my life.  Here are some picks of me at the 19.3 mile mark:

 This is me strapping on my Nathan pack - thank you heather.

  At this point, its boiling hot out!

 Heather asked me how I am feeling, this is the universal kids sign for "just ok" - however, I felt like burnt ass.  I could only smile knowing how shitty I really felt.

 At this point, I was wondering, can I actually make it back another 12 miles?  The heat was in full effect as it was almost 11am...I hung out there for about ~4 minutes getting my pack filled with ice and water..then, I was off - Thank you Dora for giving me that goo pack and putting ice on my head...It saved my ass about 6 miles from there.  At this point, I just focused on getting to the next aid station which was the Fraser AS, almost 7 miles away.  It took FOREVER to get there and by this time, we were in full run/walk mode...the hills were so brutal and the heat so hot, I really questioned even being able to walk up the hill.  Throw in the pain in my right knee which would surface if I would run more than 10-15 minutes at a time, it was a tough go.  Just a quick note about the right knee, the tendonitis starting kicking in around mile 8 of the race so I almost felt I could run hard even if I wanted to...The uphills didn't really cause any pain, just the downhills.  About 2 miles from Fraser AS, alot of runners had run out of water at this point.  I would joke with the runners I was with and tell them, they moved this Aid Station further in.  Another runner i had been running with actually broke both his big toes during a fall...how that happens, I still really didn't understand it as my brain was barely functioning at this point.  It really did feel like it was longer than 7 miles to get there.  The amount of bitching that that went on during this run was unreal, especially this one where the course was long and the heat and humidity were miserable.  Me, being a middle of the pack runner can only speak from what its like to run my speed.  I finally made it to Fraser AS and refilled up, had a brownie, which I ate, several cups of Gatorade, half of salted potato and I was off to the next AS which was 5k away.  Meanwhile, people were getting checked out by the Vienna paramedics and some pulled out of the race.  Some just walked in from the 5.7 mile mark...who knows how long it took them..Oh, just wanted to mention that at each AS, the volunteers were pouring cold water over everyone's head....that was an absolute godsend...By the time I got here, I only had to go 1.67 more miles and I knew I could crawl that far...By this time, the right knee was so sore, i could only run in spurts.  Finally made it in with a time of 07:08:34 at 2:09:52PM...These were just absolute sick conditions...Here is a picture of me coming in and finishing:

This was me and some guy named Don who was in the Navy...we both ran the last 3-4 miles in..

Better yet, here are some shots of me finishing the race:

Like I just won the race or something, ha!

At this point, Heather was screaming, "finish strong" and I am thinking, woman you are crazy..this isn't an 8k in 50 degree weather!!

Here are some pics of me after the race

Don't let the smile fool you!

and here:

All in all, it was a tough ass race and took everything I had to finish....the time sucked but in races sometimes you are racing to finish and that is what happened here.  Now I have to rest that right knee and see how it rebounds next week when I test it very easy!  My next race is the Vail mountain Climb on July 6th, 2013 which does a 7.5 mountain run from 8500 feet to 10,200..yikes.  This is the first day of my vacation and looked like fun...Bring on the misery, yes, its an addiction.