Inside the Maze

This weekend I got a glimpse of running a race from another angle as I helped out behind the scenes for the Maze 10k/30k trail run. Meanwhile, Nancy ran the 30k - her first ever 30k - and had a great race. She beat her goal time by nearly 50 minutes, and I was able to crew for her and take photos each loop!!!

Friday evening I showed up at the Rogue store to help with packet stuffing. We had a fun group and I had a great time. There were about 8 of us stuffing maybe 350 packets, and by the end we had set up a well oiled production line. Joe and Crash went through the list of runners, marking and coding each bag (bib number, F or M for gender, shirt size and T or C for tech or cotton), then the chip and bib people matched up chips and bibs to the bags which were then handed off to the gophers (one of which was yours truly). I think the gophers got the best job as we would then go and find the relevant shirt, swoop by the paper people who would drop in all the flyers and info packets, and finally hand off to the "bag lady" who would arrange the stuffed bags by chip number. We were pretty much done in an hour and then hung around for a while eating pizza and drinking beer.

I started Saturday morning off early with a quick Ken's loop with Henry and co. They were going on to run a whole lot more, but I dropped out early to go help with morning packet pickup. Got to the Rogue store by 9, and the early crew was myself, Crash and Charlene. We got a steady stream of customers and it was very laid back and fun. Between customers we just hung out and chatted. The second shift arrived at 1, and consisted of Pete, Kelly and Jeff - familiar faces from packet stuffing the night before. Pete would go on to have a great run and take second place in the 30k.

Spent a great few hours in the afternoon playing "indoor soccer" with Gavin (basically kicking an inflatable ball back and forth in the corridor and bouncing it off walls). From time to time he would "steal" the ball and run off and hide it. It was then my job to find it while he taunted me. Once I found it I'd run off in triumph and celebrate, not realizing that he'd sneaked up behind me and was stealing it back. And so on and so forth. Hours of fun!!!

Late afternoon I wandered over to Walnut Creek (the race site) to help with course marking. Robert, Diana and myself were responsible for the first 3 miles, while Joe, Henry and TJ did the second half. It was a pleasant evening with good company, but not far into the loop we came across some kids running along holding handfuls of our ribbons - with their parents!!! Robert gave them a good ear bashing, and we doubled back to check the signs we'd already done. Sure enough, they were still pulling up ribbons as they went. Robert yelled after them and they ran off, but you have to wonder what the parents were doing. My dad would have given me a good old hiding if I'd done stuff like that.

Despite this, we found our way through the rest of the course. I had run it a few times earlier in the week and recognized many of the twists and turns. We just hoped that our signs would still be there in the morning.

Sunday morning started early and I was back at the park at 4am to help put up tents, fences, and do setup. We had a runner go run the course early to check on the signs and he confirmed that a few of them had been displaced. These were swiftly rectified, and apart for a couple of instances of arrow and "wrong way" signs being swapped, it was not too bad. The weather was just about perfect and by race time everything was ready to go. The 30kers got off and a half hour later the 10k started.

During the race, things varied between inactivity and various odd jobs. I enjoyed just hanging out and cheering runners as they passed. I was waiting for Nancy at the end of each loop, ready to refill her bottle, gu and shot bloks. She crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 10 minutes. I was thrilled she'd had a good run and she was very happy. I am very proud of her - she's got a lot of heart, which is a very important thing for a long distance runner.

Once the last runner had cleared the mid-course aid station, we were able to start course teardown. Diana and myself had the job of clearing from mile 3 to the finish line, and we took off onto the trail with a backpack and a ribbon sack, taking a few short cuts to get to the mile 3 point. From there, we ran the last 3 miles of the course, taking down the ribbons, and pulling up the arrows and wrong way signs as we went. The weather was still pleasant and we got the chance to enjoy a few miles, though we did slow down as the backpack started filling with wooden stakes.

And that was that. We all went to Chuys for a nice relaxed lunch and a few laughs, then I toddled off home to share Nancy's race stories. I'd promised her one of my reward pizzas for supper, so when she and Gavin dozed off together I got started making the dough. Cooking has been a hobby of mine for a few years now, and I think the real secret to pizza and pasta dishes is to make everything from scratch - it's very easy to do and so much better than store bought. A good homemade pizza crust also makes your kitchen smell like a pizzeria, and Gavin loves to watch me throw and spin the dough. This one was a basic mushroom and pepperoni with some Italian cheeses and a few herbs in the sauce, but pretty tasty all the same. By 9pm I was starting to slow down, and when I went to read Gavin a bedtime story I fell asleep in his bed with him. A perfect end to a fun weekend.

Rocky Hill Ranch update and various ramblings

Didn't do as badly as I'd thought - I finished 9th overall. 31 runners started the 50 miler and 21 finished. Here are other vague thoughts from the race:

Damn stupid commercial jingle that kept running through my head all day:

F-R-E-E, that spells free
creditreport.com baby.

I must have repeated this silly little thing in my head hundreds of times. Very annoying.

While climbing up Fat Chuck's Demise for the fourth time, I urged my future self to remember exactly how I felt at that moment and to not do something this stupid again. Needless to say, I am now sitting here thinking how I can improve next time out.

Halfway up one of the insane dirt inclines there was a very random "no parking" sign. Gotta love it.

"Still can't quite bring myself to pee in the woods". Did I really write that after one of my other races? Does not seem to be a problem anymore.

I think ultra running must be what mainstream running was like before it became so commercialized. Just a bunch of dedicated people and enthusiastic volunteers who do what they do simply for the love of it. I hope it stays that way.

Quote of the day from Daniel Graves as he passed me on loop one - "what the hell am I doing running up this hill?"

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.