Goal: Somewhere between 2:00 and 2:30 (not sure of the terrain) and race for the win
Result: 2:23:01 and first female
I heard about this race via a Facebook post by Brian Polen in Medina County Road Runners. This was just a week or so before I was due to chase after a new 10k road pr. I was feeling immense pressure (from myself of course) to pr in my last road race for the year. I was kind of hating the stressful feeling of needing to perform and run fast and I jumped at the opportunity to get back on the trails and have some fun on my favorite running surface. When I say have some fun, I don't mean that I don't race hard in a trail race. It's just that the whole environment is different. More low key. It's like the attitude matches the racing surface: soft but deceptively tough. I don't think anyone thinks it's easy to race more than 15 miles on technical, leaf-covered trails with thousands of feet of elevation change. But somehow it is more fun than hammering out asphalt miles.
It was staged at Camp Nuhop in the Mohican State Park. The camp provides services for developmentally challenged kids and the race was a benefit for it. I heard that the start took you up something called "mount Nuhop" and then on a nice 25k loop through the tough trails of the Mohican State Forest. These trails are typical Ohio trails. Single track, lots of roots, rocks and it being full blown autumn, piles of fallen leaves. Snow in the winter, mud in the spring and summer and leaves in the fall. Never think you're going to run fast on Ohio trails. I prepared for the race by switching completely to trail tempos. I extended them up to 45 minutes straight through. I used the 5 mile loop on the Medina Reagan trails for these. There is very little true elevation change but the sharp turns and narrow path mimic a technical trail. It serves it's purpose to keep me close to home but working on trails.
Race day came and I realized it was going to be perfect weather. Low 40s, no wind or rain and especially no snow. I do not want to race in the snow on anything but skis! Margaret followed me out to the location. She was running the 25k as well and we did a warmup together on the road that leads down from the camp. We got a taste of what kind of hills were in store for us. Good ones! I decided not to wear a watch because my Garmin has been very unreliable under tree cover. I didn't want to get caught up in what pace I was running in a race like this. I had a plan to try and hang with Brian Polen, who was running the 50k. I learned quickly after the start that I wouldn't be able to do that without going into oxygen debt in the first few miles.
I love the low key start of trail ultra races. The 25k and the 50k went off together at 8 a.m. Everyone was in a good mood and ready to enjoy some trails. I started hard to see if I could go with the front 50k guys. The problem was that the front 50k guys and the front 25k guys were hanging together and running about 7:00-7:30 pace. Uphill. Nope, that would not be wise. So I hung back and settled into a good effort. Around 8:00 on the flat, 7:30 on the downhill and 9:00 or slower on the uphill. In the first five miles I actually hiked plenty of the steep hills. This terrain was proving to be no joke and I was using a lot of effort from my whole body. I noticed too that the stress of watching for rocks and roots under the piled leaves was causing quite a strain. There was no taking my eyes off the ground for this race. And even then, I fell hard twice.
In the first three miles I followed three men off course. Instead of going in the direction that I knew matched the pre-race directions, I followed them. I added about a half a mile to my race by doing this. I felt sick when I realized that people had passed me during this mistake. I was sure a woman must have passed and I worked hard the next three miles to a catch the men that had passed and hopefully the women. I finally found out at about mile 8 that no women had passed me. After I heard this, I felt relieved and started to really concentrate on making this a good race. I took advantage of the flats and started pushing the pace on them. I also began to run the hills instead of hiking them. I ran them slowly, tip toeing to the top, but I submitted to the lung-searing, butt-seizing pain that comes with uphill running and told myself to get to the top without stopping. These trails were stunningly beautiful. I especially loved the sections in the pine forest. Pines are always my favorite. I had decided not to carry nutrition with me. I stopped at each of the four aid stations and drank one cup of water and one cup of electrolyte. Between the first and second aid station I began to feel very depleted and I barely made it to the next aid station without crashing. I felt fine after I got in some calories though. At about mile 5 I slid on some mud that was hidden under a foot of leaves and fell. I caught myself before going over an embankment that would have cost me many minutes crawling back up it. I told myself to focus on the ground. Unfortunately I fell again, this time harder, right before the second aid station. My left knee took most of the fall and I scraped up my palms. After this fall the downhills started to wrench my knees. It was about this time when I heard someone coming up behind me.
"This was not how I pictured us running together," Brian told me as he passed. Poor guy had taken a wrong turn and added at least a mile to his distance. Believe me, this route doesn't need an extra mile added to it! He moved ahead very quickly after I commiserated with him over going off course. He was still able to pull off the win in a very solid time.
As I approached the third aid station I realized that I was feeling really good. I was working hard, no doubt, but I felt like I could work a little harder. From there to the finish, everything except the falls with those god awful stairs is a blur. I scrambled up those stairs as fast as I could, hauling my body up with my arms. After the stairs came a truly dangerous section near the cliffs. People have died falling from there. I began to gain on a number of male runners from the 8.5 mile race and some 25kers that were dying. I started feel like I was hunting people down and really got in a rhythm hawking them down. I distinctly remember a point after climbing the stairs where I was going up a technical climb with large rocks and no clear path. I was in full race/hunt mode and grabbed sapplings around me to help pull myself up the hill. At one point I was basically crawling over rocks, scraping up my hands even more, eyes ahead on those in front of me. That is my favorite memory from from this race. I've used that memory ever since then, to get myself through workouts. For your best race, maintain a single-minded focus on what lies ahead. Never look back. It doesn't even have to be people that you focus on, but points on the course, trees or landmarks.
I felt so great on that final stretch of road before dropping back down into camp Nuhop. I was actually wishing that I had more miles to run so I could keep getting faster. But it was time to be done for the day. And once I finished I was glad that I wasn't running the 50k like Ladd and Brian. Ladd came through the first loop soon after I finished and all I could think and say was "good luck." I waited for Margaret to finish and ate some delicious chili and coffee in the lodge. I also chatted with the male winner of the 25k who is a local high school coach. His wife was third female in the 25k. And Stephanie Hillman, the Hoka rep, was second female!
This race is a definite keeper. I plan to return here next year and possibly tackle the 50k if the timing is right in my training. It is for a great cause and was so well run. And who can pass up running on these beautiful trails?!
25k results
Buckeye Woods 25k
Goal: beat men's course record of 1:53
Result: 1:50:20 for first overall
This is an MCRR club race only open to club members. This is so much fun and because I'm already a club member, it's free. For the past three years I have come out and raced it with a serious goal in mind. The first year I was happy to finish a 16 mile race on 30 miles a week and a long run of 10 miles. I realized after that race that I still had endurance and would be fine to tackle longer distances. Last year I aimed to take down the women's course record of 2:06 and was able to crush that with a 1:54. I flirted with the idea of doing the 50k this year but I simply wasn't able to put the long runs in. I would want a 20 miler on the 5 mile loop in order to mentally train myself to get through that kind of monotony. I do not prefer loop courses. So I decided to go after the men's 25k course record. That was just one minute faster than what I ran last year. I knew it would be a serious grind, but wanted to give it my best try.
Buckeye Woods 50k Blog
Evan offered to pace me for 10-12 miles of the race. This was his long run and the pace was going to be about perfect for him. I'm so grateful that he did this as I believe it made the difference of minutes. In any other race setting I would feel guilty for having a pacer, but there was nearly a guarantee that I would be all alone otherwise.
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| Start of the 25k/50k. Photo credit: John J. McCarroll |
My nutrition was pretty light for this. I stopped at the two pavilion check ins and spent 30 and 50 seconds getting down Gatorade and water. I had to hydrate a lot throughout the day after this effort.
The one nice thing about loops is that you see so many people, either by lapping them or passing them coming the other direction. I tried to say hi to people as I saw them, even though I was in race mode. I'm telling you, the 50kers KILLED it this year. There were so many finishers and Nicole got the women's course record in 4:19. As usual, I didn't have time to stick around and watch, but there were some major celebrations going on at the pavilion in early afternoon hours.
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| My favorite pic from the race. Yes, it was hot enough to run shirtless after we warmed up and Evan didn't care about the tights/no shirt faux pas. Photo credit: John J. McCarroll |
The first loop (6 miles) was a bit fast at 40:26 but I knew I just needed to maintain a 7:00 average on the next two loops. On that second loop I was only able to do this because Evan was pacing me. During the woods section he went slightly ahead of me and I had the illusion of chasing him, as if I was actually racing. This was a huge mental boost. We made it back to the pavilion the second time at 1:15:22. Perfect. Just maintain. But I was feeling tired. My least favorite mile is the one right after the pavilion check in. The crushed limestone is soft and I feel like I'm going uphill, though it's quite flat. Then my favorite section is the short paved one right before we head into the woods. I was picking it up to about 6:20 pace in there and those were the miles that saved the overall average. Evan headed back to the pavilion right before I went back to the woods for the final time. I told myself that this was no excuse to drop off the pace and made sure I worked those final miles. Every time I gave in and backed off, I told myself "no, make it hurt" and got going again. I started feeling really good in the final mile as I was coming back to the pavilion. I didn't look at my watch, but I knew I'd worked hard for that last bit and was going to get a pr for the course. I kicked it in at about 5:10 pace coming around the lake. I felt so good! Then I saw that the clock had a 1:50 and I could hardly believe it. This was a strong effort for me. I'm hoping it points to many strong efforts for the half marathon and marathon in 2016.
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| Finishing up! Soaked in sweat. Photo credit: John J. McCarroll |
