Struggling in Smithville

Ok, this is the craziest thing I've ever done for a race. My alarm clock went off at 1am so I could leave the house at 2am for a 4am start at the Rocky Hill Ranch 50 mile race. Nancy came with me because she was running the 25k course as part of Joe's rogue trail series class. Along the way we stopped off at a McDonalds just off IH-35 and Hwy 71 to pick up another Austin runner who needed a lift to the race.

We got there early and checked in with race director Joe Prusaitis. As Nancy's race didn't start until 7am, she was swiftly put to work on check in. I got our ice box and camping chairs and set up our drop bag area near the start line. As I was carrying my camelbak to the drop bags, I passed a group of guys I knew and one of them called over "what are you doing, getting a few early miles in?" I laughed and replied "what do you think I am, crazy?". This cracked them up - after all, we were standing in a field in the middle of nowhere at 3:30am about to run 50 miles.

The 50 mile course was three 25k loops, with the extra 3.5 miles being made up by an initial out and back. The 25k and 50k races would be starting at 7am, but we started at 4am under a beautiful full moon. It was the first time I've run trail by night and my headlight worked really well. I enjoyed it, but running in the dark really does slow you down. From time to time I'd turn the light off, stand still and enjoy the moonlight. Absolute silence out there in the woods, punctuated now and again by the cry of coyotes. The initial 3.5 out and back loop was basically up Fat Chuck's Demise (ie. all the early hills), so we ended up running those four times.

I knew a whole bunch of people at the aid stations and looked forward to seeing them again at each loop. I finished the 3.5 mile out and back and the first 25k loop right at 3:50. That meant that the 25k and 50kers had a 50 minute head start on me as I began loop 2, but I hoped to catch up to Nancy somewhere along the route (I knew she'd probably started late as she'd been working packet pickup). I passed a few runners from the other races on this loop, and eventually caught up with her at the Tunnel of Pines aid station - she was chatting to Jeff and Ron who were running the station. Said hello to the guys and refilled my bottle, then we set off together. We walked through the water crossing before I said goodbye and told her that I'd see her at the finish line.

Got back to the lodge, recharged my bottles, picked up my ipod (which I'd forgotten for the second loop) and got ready to set off again. I had been leapfrogging with Gabe Ayson and Daniel Graves for the entire race, and Gabe and I left the lodge and ran/walked a large portion of the final loop together. We were both pretty beat, but he said that quite a few of the 50 mile runners had already dropped and the gossip at the aid stations confirmed that. Chatting with Gabe helped pass the time and I hit a purple patch about two miles into the loop where I felt really good. Decided to make the most of it and set off at a (relatively) fast run - I knew I would be walking later on. Stopped for a while at the Longhorn aid station where the crew did a great job of taking care of me and set off at a walk/run/shuffle toward the next aid station 5 miles down the trail.

Stayed at the Pines aid station for a while discussing Ron's quest to sample every one of the beers at his local pub and get his name on the wall. He called it a new endurance sport - classic stuff!!! Gabe caught up to me here and we walked off to the Pines Avenue together. By now I was pretty much done and ready to walk most of the rest of the way, so when Gabe took off I didn't make any effort to catch him. From time to time I would run a little and I passed a few of the 50kers along the way. Reached the finish line in 11 hours 17 minutes and Joe, Henry and co cheered me in. That was nearly 2 hours slower than my best 50 mile time, but you can't compare times across different races and I knew I'd given my all for that day and that race. I saw Ryan (the guy we'd given a lift to that morning) and he'd taken 5th place in the 50 miler - he'd had an awesome run but was also doing the Frankenstein walk. Apparently a lot of people had suffered out there. Henry came over to shake my hand and I congratulated him and Joe on designing a course that kicked my butt. Also thanked Gabe for making that last loop more bearable and said hello to a few friends before we headed back to Austin. I was pretty tired and fell asleep on the sofa until my dad woke me up half an hour later to watch the Joe Calzaghe vs Bernard Hopkins boxing match. To finish the day on a high note, Joe won (he's from Wales).

I'm not that sore today, just tired. I was going to get up and go run the Sunday morning Ken's loop, but I didn't wake up in time. Think I'll run it tomorrow morning with Nancy instead. I think I need to add some road running back into my regime as that helps maintain my pace. I struggled today, but so did a lot of other people. My knees hurt, but the Montrail Hardrocks helped a lot on the stony ground - I wouldn't have wanted to run that race in my road shoes. I didn't train specifically for this 50 miler - my longest recent long run of note was a 22 miler on the green belt about 3 weeks ago - and had no specific goal. Having said that, it was good to know I could still grind out a 50 miler.

The next generation of trail runner?

Here's Gavin hiking the trails with his dad and Grandpa Wales at Bastrop State Park. He loves his little Camelbak and we had a fun time. Nancy was taking a break after pushing him on the swings for a good hour. I think we hiked about 3 miles and then he got to play on the swings again. Great day.

Mrs Welshrunner Chases Pigs in Huntsville

Last Friday I loaded Gavin, Nancy, my parents and myself up in the car to drive to Huntsville for the Hog's Hunt race. It was Nancy's first trail race - she was running the 25k. Friday was a wet and dirty day, but the forecast was much better for Saturday - race day. We stopped off at the park for packet pickup before going for a fantastic meal at Margarita's Mexican restaurant, then retired early.

The plan was for me to take Nancy to the park early and see her off, then go back to the hotel to pick up Gavin and my parents. We arrived at the park, staked out our spot on the approach to the start/finish area, and set up Gavin's "shark tent" and some camping chairs. Saw a couple of friends off for the 50k, and it wasn't long before the 25kers were called. It had turned into a perfect morning for running and I hoped Nancy would enjoy the park as much as I do. The race course followed the road for the first mile, so I hung around for a while to let the runners clear before driving back to the hotel. Picked everyone up and checked out, then stopped off at Wal Mart to get some stuff to BBQ before heading back to the park. We settled in and Gavin had a great time. He loves his tent and found a couple of friends to play with. I watched the 50kers coming in from their first loop. Cheered on Jeff as he finished his first loop, and he took some time out to visit before setting out again.

Nancy came in around 3:22 looking good, and I was waiting with the camera. She said she'd walked a bit, but for her first time I thought she did really well and she seemed very pleased with herself. I started the BBQ and cheered the 50k runners in. Larry did really well to finish 3rd overall, and Jeff came in looking strong. We hung around in the park for a few hours enjoying the atmosphere and chatting to friends before heading off to Galveston for a few days break by the sea.

Run to the Hills.....in Waco?

One thing running teaches you is to hate your alarm clock, so when the damn thing started chiming at 2:30am on a cold Austin morning, I staggered into the shower wondering why I signed up for the Waco 50k.

The journey up was pretty uneventful. We stopped off at McDonalds when we got into Waco so Nancy could get some breakfast, then we set out to find Cameron Park. After a few wrong turns, we found the pavilion and I picked up my race packet. As I'd forgotten my hat, I was very happy to see there was one in the race packet.

The race consisted of 3 laps of twisty, hilly trails within Cameron Park, and pretty soon race director Tim Neckar called the 50kers to the start line. There were less than 50 of us shivering in the early moning cold – perfect running weather. I was standing there in my road shoes because I'd sprained my ankle pretty badly at Ken's Loop the Sunday before and my foot was still too swollen (and colorful) to fit in my trail shoes. I spent the first mile protecting my ankle, but it was holding up really well and I soon forgot about it.

After about half a mile, we hit the first of many hills and I started walking. This was the first race I've run that contained “unrunnable” (for me) hills. They made Decker look flat and fast. What I really liked about this course is that it kept changing direction and zig-zagging. This kept the run interesting and felt a lot like a treasure hunt. On the other hand, you had to be alert in case you missed a turn or lost the trail. Several times I called back runners who had gone “off track”. The loop passed quickly enough – I tagged in behind a group of three runners and before I knew it we were at the bamboo grove – my favorite part of the course (also very close to the end of the loop). Not long after this was “Jacob's Ladder” - a series of stone steps built into a cliff face, right at the end of each loop. Some of those steps were knee high and I quickly found that the best way to get up them was on all fours. The steps were hard, but oddly satisfying.

My race plan was to run loops of 1:45, 2:00 and 2:15 with my goal being to finish under 6 hours, so I was happy to finish up loop one right at 1:45. After a quick bathroom stop (I still can't quite bring myself to pee in the woods) I started out on loop 2.

I ran for a while with a guy called Matt who had nearly done a year studying in Cardiff (capitol of Wales). We talked for a while about the City before going our own ways. I would have several conversations stemming from my accent.

About half way through this second loop, Joe caught me. He didn't recognize me at first in my cap (“I'm in disguise”) and it didn't take long for him to leave me for dead on the downhills. He just flew down those hills while I was just trying not to tumble headfirst. My wife is the same way on those downhills – she just flies – either no fear or no common sense!!! Hopefully this is something I can improve on as I'm sure I lost a lot of time on these things. Nevertheless, Joe was the last person to pass me.

I came through the bamboo grove and up the steps again to finish out loop two right at 2 hours. I stopped for another bathroom break, handed off my extra shirt and gloves to Nancy and picked up my ipod. She had set up a camping chair by the start/finish line and was having a great time cheering on all the runners.

So I headed back out for the third and final loop. From the previous two loops, I knew there were specific parts of the course where I would feel good and other parts where I wouldn't. I determined to push the good bits and grind out the rest. I was still feeling pretty good and had my sports beans to graze on. I was very grateful for the mile markers posted at each mile and started trying to figure out my projected finish time – not so easy since the course was so up and down, but I figured I still had a chance at the sub-6 hour goal.

When I hit the 7 mile aid station, I knew I needed to kick it up for the final 3 and a bit miles to get that goal. I hadn't seen another runner since the second loop and I'd started running a little too lazy – not really pushing myself. I still felt pretty good though so I decided to go for it. I hit a rhythm on the flats, started running some of the uphills and even pushed it a little more on the downhills. I sailed through the bamboo grove and popped out of the woods onto the road. I scrambled up Jacob's ladder and checked my watch at the top – it was going to be close. I knew if I didn't break 6 hours after getting so close it would bug me all year, so I pushed a fast pace. This is where my road shoes were an advantage, as I was back in my familiar environment on the road. I ran that last half a mile or so at a 7:30 pace and crossed the finish line in 5:57:54. Very happy with that time on that course.

I was also very happy to discover beer on ice for the finishers. As I sat there in the warm sunshine, drinking my beer and eating my hamburger I noticed Nancy was still wearing her hat, coat and gloves. “Ok”, I asked, “what's the weather really like?” She confirmed it was still cold. I'm so lucky to have her.

Things I learned from this race. I had plenty left in the tank at the end, so maybe I should have pushed a little more earlier. When running by myself, I have a tendancy to take my foot off the gas and coast along in la-la land. I used one handheld bottle which I refilled at each aid station – this worked really well. My nutrition plan was pretty much non-existant. I wanted to see if I could complete the race on one packet of sports beans and whatever they had at the aid stations, and that worked well too.

Overall a great tough race. I was sore for a few days afterwards, mostly my quads – I suspect from applying the brakes on the downhills. I'll be back next year to try and improve on it.

Austin Marathon

I ran the AT&T Austin marathon this morning - the fourth year in a row I've run this race. I've run two ultramarathons this season, but for some reason the marathon distance always seems to be the most difficult - maybe because I try to race it at a much faster pace. I do know that I'm feeling a lot more sore after this race than I was after either Sunmart or Rocky Raccoon. I knocked another 30 minutes off my best time to finish in 3:49:16 - an 8:45/mile average. I've had some calf problems this past week which I was nervous about, but I got away with it. I went out at a comfortable pace, which I maintained through the race and I was very happy with that. I walked through the final two aid stations and I also walked part of the hill on San Jacinto around mile 25.5. Other than that, I ran the entire race. By mile 20 I was ready to be finished, but I held on and was very happy with my time. Nancy took her bike and cycled round the course - she kept popping up and surprising me. All in all a very good day - extra large Mr Gatti's pizza tonight!!!

Singing Delilah at Rocky Raccoon

5 years ago I couldn't run a 10k without walking. Yesterday I ran my first 50 mile race at a faster pace than I ran those old 10ks. If you would have told this chubby little Welsh boy five years ago that he would run a 50 mile race I would have laughed all the way to Mr Gatti's.

Our weekend started on Friday as Nancy, Gavin and myself had a relaxed drive up to Huntsville. We got to the park mid afternoon for packet pickup and then took Gavin to play on the swings. It was a beautiful day and I was so glad the weather would be good for my peeps. We wandered around for a while and then left to check into the hotel. Nancy wanted me to wear the Rocky Raccoon sweatshirt, but I have this thing about not wearing the shirt until I run the race so I left it in the bag. We had supper at a funky little place called the Potato Shack, finished it off with a nice piece of turtle cheesecake (helps me sleep - ha ha) and then we headed back to the hotel. Spent some time re-reading bits of "Running through the Wall" for motivation, then we had an early night.

I've always been nervous before my marathons, but for some reason I've not had the same nerves for either of the trail races I've run. Instead I was excited at the challenge of the unknown. We got to the park just after the 100 milers had set off and I could see the procession of lights as they made their way into the trails. A few days before this race, I'd signed up for a 50k in Fort Worth in July called "El Scorcho", and as I waited at the start line I spotted a guy wearing an "El Scorcho" shirt. Got talking to him and it turns out he was Ryan Valdez - the El Scorcho race director. What are the chances?

Pretty soon we were off. I wore my Round Rock Fit shirt and as we wound around the course I got a lot of banter about the "no whining" logo. On the way up to the Far Side aid station, I caught a glimpse of Jorge Pacheco coming the other way - he was flying and would go on to win the 100 mile race. On the way back from Far Side, I saw the first fall of the day - an acrobatic 360 that left the guy flat on his back. Fortunately it looked a lot more spectacular than it was painful as he got up and seemed ok. A few minutes later I heard a voice scream "get out of my way" and a runner came streaking past me at a full-on sprint. He kept yelling as he pushed past the group in front of me. Well, there's always one, and I figured I would be passing him long before the day was out. Sure enough, not a mile later he was flat out by the side of the trail looking thoroughly done in. Didn't see him again. A short while later I came across a guy running in a coonskin cap whose name really was Davy Crockett!!! I would continue to meet entertaining characters throughout the day.

Coming up toward the swamp I lost concentration for a moment and turned my ankle on a hidden rock. I gingerly put my weight on it, and limped for a short while before getting back to a slow jog and then finally my normal run. I'm a world expert on ankle sprains (my own at least) from my rugby days, and I knew I could run it off. It wasn't a factor for the rest of the race, but by the next day it had swollen up like the proverbial fatted calf.

I got back to the lodge in around 2:39 and saw Nancy and Gavin - they'd set up a "shark tent" and were obviously having a great time. I stopped off at the porta potties and then at my drop bag. Dumped off my long sleeved shirt and gloves, replenished my e-gel and shot bloks, picked up my ipod and headed out again around 2:44.

Felt pretty good for most of the second loop. Went through the dam road aid station, the out and back from far side, and cruised through the marathon distance in 4:23. Coming up on to the dam road, the ipod started playing a bunch of great songs. Every one reminded me of a time and place - Chantilly Lace, Tom Jones' "Delilah", Kirsty McCall's "Days", and Pulp's "Common People" amongst others. I was pretty much by myself on the trail, so I started singing along. Grooved along for a while, singing loudly, waving my arms around like a lunatic and having a great time while sneaking the odd furtive glance behind to make sure nobody could hear my awful singing. If you saw me, or heard me at any point during this part of the course, please keep it to yourself!!! "WHY, WHY, WHY, DELILAH" I howled as the coyotes covered their ears and the alligators sought refuge at the bottom of the lake. However, the high didn't last, and by the time I closed in on site 174 my right knee had started giving me problems and slowed me down. I'd been having some IT band issues for the last month or so and hoped it would settle down, but by the time I got back to the lodge I knew I was in trouble.

I completed loop 2 right at 5:50 and stopped off at my drop bag again to get some double shot espresso clif shots and sports beans and drop off the ipod. I wanted to get back out quickly before my knee seized up, but knew it may already be too late. Nancy and Gavin came over and I didn't want to worry them, so I told them I was tired and this might be a long last loop. I took off again, but it was very painful to run so I decided to walk for a bit and see if it would ease. From time to time I would try running again, but the knee was crying Mary so I resolved to continue at a fast walk. I also knew that if I had to drag my sorry ass the whole way around that course I would. Then, not far from Far Side, something clicked back into place and the knee pain was suddenly gone. I got into the aid station, refilled my bottles and took off at a brisk run to test the knee out. It felt good, so I decided to try and make up for lost time. The walk break had left me feeling really fresh so I started pushing the pace and pretty soon started passing a lot of people. Came back through the dam road aid station, filled up quickly and took off again. Coming back up through the wilderness I started feeling really good, and by the time I got to site 174 I was flying. Chugged the double espresso shot and headed out of the final aid station and into the biggest runner's high I've ever had - those last 3 miles were my best of the entire run. I felt so good and covered them in under 24 minutes. I kept pushing the pace and the faster I went the better I felt. I popped out of the woods a mile from the finish line and decided to really drop the hammer. Took a look at my Garmin and saw I was running close to a 7 minute mile. What am I doing running a 7 minute mile after 49 miles? Hell, it felt good so I went with it and picked up the pace again. Motored through the final part of the trail and onto the approach to the lodge, where several spectators started clapping me in. I did my airplane impersonation as I crossed the finish line feeling really strong in 9:24 - over 35 minutes faster than my goal time.

Crossed over to the shark tent where both Gavin and Nancy were asleep. Nancy was shocked to see me as she didn't expect me for another half hour at least. I was still coming down after my high and had a permanent goofy grin on my face. We stayed around for a while cheering on some of the other runners, and it was dark by the time we left. As we drove out of the park I could see the headlights of some of the 100 mile runners in the woods. I really felt for those guys who would be running all night - maybe next year I will be one of them.

My fueling strategy had worked really well, but I started to get really hungry and raided McDonalds on the way home to Austin. Large fries, big mac, double cheeseburger (can't beat fats for those fast calories), then I emptied a packet of trail mix, then made a pile of bacon sandwiches once I got home. Couldn't sleep last night, so I got up around 2am, made some more and watched tv most of the night. Then I was ready for breakfast.

Overall, I had a great time despite the knee problems. The fact that I came back strong at the end and finished well under my time goal bodes well for longer distances. I have to say I really love the atmosphere and feel of these trail runs. The volunteers can't do enough for you and everyone is so friendly. Surprisingly, I'm not feeling that stiff today. My ankle is swollen from that silly altercation early on in loop one, my knee is a little sore and my feet are bruised but I'll be ready to go again in a few days. It's time to repair and get ready for the Austin marathon in two weeks time. Ice is my friend!!!

Signing out from the strange world of ultra running.