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This is my 3rd HAT run and I really feel like I'm learning to<br>
run the thing. As I've said all along, this 50k race is harder than<br>
the JFK 50 miler (although does not take as long) because of<br>
all of the climbing and sometimes mud. This year they changed<br>
the course, apparently adding 1.5 miles of distance and a lot<br>
more elevation gain. Last year this race was a mudfest after a lot<br>
of recent rain, but this year it's been a bit dry, so the ground was<br>
in quite good shape. I didn't really have any goals for this race<br>
as I didn't know much what the new course would bring (although<br>
I knew it would be harder to some degree) and I had been very<br>
much lacking in the trail training department (although, I feel<br>
I'm in tip-top shape for road marathons at the moment). I knew<br>
I would be feeling the hills. It was clear and sunny out, somewhere<br>
in the 30s, but there was a brisk, ice-cold wind that I knew I would<br>
feel throughout the race. Still, I went with a short sleeve shirt<br>
(my U Texas bike shirt - consistent with the NCAA tournament<br>
going on now, celebrating Texas's win last night in the sweet<br>
sixteen), shorts, and gloves. I'm sure many were disappointed that Mr. Twinkie<br>
didn't show up. Given the cool weather and plentiful aid stations,<br>
every 5 miles or less, I didn't bother carrying a bottle, or anything<br>
for that matter. My approach has become pretty standard, using<br>
a mix of heart rate, pace, and general feel to guide myself, running<br>
fast on the downs to keep HR up, puttering up the ups to keep<br>
HR under control, and keep a smooth pace on the flats (which there<br>
are very little of on this course). I would drink Coke when available,<br>
gatorade when there was no Coke, and eat a mix of potato chips,<br>
fritos, other snack mixes, and a piping hot batch of french fries,<br>
which they had at the aid station at mile 25 or so. For a while I really<br>
didn't notice the change in difficulty of the course, but after mile 20,<br>
it became apparent because the extra hills just ate away at me.<br>
Fortunately, they seemed to eat away at others moreso, so I spent<br>
most of the last 10 miles passing people. One thing I did notice about<br>
the new course was that the stream crossings were a bit more challenging,<br>
without a nice clear path across and they were slightly deeper and wider,<br>
with many slippery rocks to contend with, followed by bushwacking at<br>
the end to get back onto the trail. The water was cold! Most of the<br>
race was fairly noneventful and I was able to keep a mostly even<br>
pace throughout without ever feeling the slightest burnout. In the<br>
last 13.7 mile loop, I did have many falls, however, one pretty hard.<br>
Each time I got back up, I lost a bit more pace - when you're tired<br>
and you're trying to keep a rhythm going, it will go out of whack pretty<br>
easily. GPS crapped out at mile 20 (I'm quite sure now that my receiver<br>
itself has issues, but it's out of warranty, so I'll live with it), so I had to<br>
go on without much idea of how much distance was left. I had my<br>
last year's time in mind (4:49) knowing that I was pushing a bit harder<br>
this year, holding pace better, and probably in slightly better shape,<br>
so I used that as a guide as to when I might be finished. What I wasn't<br>
aware of was that the course was longer and that the added elevation<br>
gain was withering some away as well. With about 2 miles to go, I<br>
passed the second woman who was running her first ultra, then she<br>
passed me, and I passed her one more time. In the last half mile,<br>
I passed the first woman, finishing about 15 seconds ahead of her.<br>
I came across in 4:55-something, over 5 minutes slower than last year,<br>
perhaps a bit disappointed. However, I came to find out pretty much<br>
all the times were slower than last year, sometimes by 20 minutes or<br>
more, so it sounded less disappointing! Also I came in 27th out of<br>
400+ starters, compared to last year's 31st, so I called the day a<br>
success!
run the thing. As I've said all along, this 50k race is harder than<br>
the JFK 50 miler (although does not take as long) because of<br>
all of the climbing and sometimes mud. This year they changed<br>
the course, apparently adding 1.5 miles of distance and a lot<br>
more elevation gain. Last year this race was a mudfest after a lot<br>
of recent rain, but this year it's been a bit dry, so the ground was<br>
in quite good shape. I didn't really have any goals for this race<br>
as I didn't know much what the new course would bring (although<br>
I knew it would be harder to some degree) and I had been very<br>
much lacking in the trail training department (although, I feel<br>
I'm in tip-top shape for road marathons at the moment). I knew<br>
I would be feeling the hills. It was clear and sunny out, somewhere<br>
in the 30s, but there was a brisk, ice-cold wind that I knew I would<br>
feel throughout the race. Still, I went with a short sleeve shirt<br>
(my U Texas bike shirt - consistent with the NCAA tournament<br>
going on now, celebrating Texas's win last night in the sweet<br>
sixteen), shorts, and gloves. I'm sure many were disappointed that Mr. Twinkie<br>
didn't show up. Given the cool weather and plentiful aid stations,<br>
every 5 miles or less, I didn't bother carrying a bottle, or anything<br>
for that matter. My approach has become pretty standard, using<br>
a mix of heart rate, pace, and general feel to guide myself, running<br>
fast on the downs to keep HR up, puttering up the ups to keep<br>
HR under control, and keep a smooth pace on the flats (which there<br>
are very little of on this course). I would drink Coke when available,<br>
gatorade when there was no Coke, and eat a mix of potato chips,<br>
fritos, other snack mixes, and a piping hot batch of french fries,<br>
which they had at the aid station at mile 25 or so. For a while I really<br>
didn't notice the change in difficulty of the course, but after mile 20,<br>
it became apparent because the extra hills just ate away at me.<br>
Fortunately, they seemed to eat away at others moreso, so I spent<br>
most of the last 10 miles passing people. One thing I did notice about<br>
the new course was that the stream crossings were a bit more challenging,<br>
without a nice clear path across and they were slightly deeper and wider,<br>
with many slippery rocks to contend with, followed by bushwacking at<br>
the end to get back onto the trail. The water was cold! Most of the<br>
race was fairly noneventful and I was able to keep a mostly even<br>
pace throughout without ever feeling the slightest burnout. In the<br>
last 13.7 mile loop, I did have many falls, however, one pretty hard.<br>
Each time I got back up, I lost a bit more pace - when you're tired<br>
and you're trying to keep a rhythm going, it will go out of whack pretty<br>
easily. GPS crapped out at mile 20 (I'm quite sure now that my receiver<br>
itself has issues, but it's out of warranty, so I'll live with it), so I had to<br>
go on without much idea of how much distance was left. I had my<br>
last year's time in mind (4:49) knowing that I was pushing a bit harder<br>
this year, holding pace better, and probably in slightly better shape,<br>
so I used that as a guide as to when I might be finished. What I wasn't<br>
aware of was that the course was longer and that the added elevation<br>
gain was withering some away as well. With about 2 miles to go, I<br>
passed the second woman who was running her first ultra, then she<br>
passed me, and I passed her one more time. In the last half mile,<br>
I passed the first woman, finishing about 15 seconds ahead of her.<br>
I came across in 4:55-something, over 5 minutes slower than last year,<br>
perhaps a bit disappointed. However, I came to find out pretty much<br>
all the times were slower than last year, sometimes by 20 minutes or<br>
more, so it sounded less disappointing! Also I came in 27th out of<br>
400+ starters, compared to last year's 31st, so I called the day a<br>
success!
