2000 ft drop was a Scream – Race Recap 7-16-2011
Two plus miles into the "The Scream" half marathon, Mike, Rick Stewart, and I were passing the first water stop and beginning our decent down the mountain. No longer able to contain myself, I let out a scream that seemed to carry me all the way to the finish line in 1:16:32 and 3rd Overall.
"The Scream" half marathon is a point to point course starting at Jonas Ridge and running along forest roads for 13.21 miles – at least as measured by my Garmin.
With no real local places to stay, runners had basically three options to choose. Ben, Mike, and I stayed in Morganton and drove the last 45 minutes race morning. I heard that Theoden and a few others choose the camping option that had runners staying near the finish. Then, of course there is Bobby Aswell option. He drove up this morning.
Since this was a point to point course, runners had the option of riding a shuttle or pairing up so there was a car at the start and finish. We used the car at the start and finish option.
Mike knew the way so I was following him this morning. We drove and drove and drove. It was still dark and all I could see was a dirt road and tons of trees on both sides. I begin to wonder if he was lost. But I took comfort in the fact that I had a full tank of gas because the nearest gas station was miles and miles away.
Fortunately, Mike did know where he was going and we found the finish line area. Within a few minutes, I found a good place to park and we were on our way to the start by driving along the course.
The winding gravel road made the 13 mile drive seemed to take forever. But I was trying to take in as much of the course as I could. I carefully listen to Mike and Ben as the pointed out the uphills and the steep downhill sections.
Finally around 7 am, we reached the starting area and people were already arriving. Actually, people were arriving before David Lee and team arrived with the packets. Once they did, a line quickly formed. However, we were lucky. Many of the runners were staying at our hotel and David was kind enough to drop off our packets the night before. Kudos to him and his team for this personalize service to the runners. I don't know of another race that would do this for their runners.
Mike, Ben, and I headed out for a quick little 3 mile warm up. Ben seemed bounce along excitedly. I think he was ready to race. Mike had injured his foot earlier in the week so I think he was taking it slow. As for myself, my legs felt heavy and sluggish which had been a contrast to how they felt all week.
Back at the car, who should show but Peter A. from Vac & Dash, Sharon, and Richard H. Peter was kind enough to shuttle Sharon and Richard to the start line before heading off. Honestly, I think Peter is always smiling. I can never remember a time that he wasn't.
The start was just a short distance from where we parked. A few minutes before 8 AM we all headed toward the starting line. Everything was delayed a few minutes to allow for runners to make the journey. This was just enough time for me to meet Josh Baker. I knew him by reputation but I hadn't had a chance to put a name with a face as yet.
David said a few words to us and the left us in the capable hands of the official starter. He told us that he would be using an air horn and give 2 short burst followed by a long burst which would start the race. Well, those short burst were really short and with the long burst we were off.
While this course boasts of a 2000 ft net drop, there are some hills along the course. The first 2 miles were basically a gentle climb. Then, we turn off on to the gravel road. This is where I grabbed my first water and let out my scream. The water stops were roughly every two miles through 12 miles.
Mike, Rick, and I covered the first two miles in 5:58 and 5:55. Josh and Ben were already out of sight at this point. I had chosen to skip wearing a shirt of any type. Temperatures hovered around 60 degrees with lots of fog and a steady drizzle which was perfect shirtless weather. Besides, my singlet was white and I knew it would be covered in mud by the finish.
I had half expected Mike to go out a little harder so when we turned onto the gravel and were still together, I began to wonder if his foot was bothering him. I didn't expect him to tell me, but if it was I thought why not see if I can make it hurt a little more. LOL. So for the next series of miles we knocked off splits in the 5:30s and then a 5:20 mile. Basically, any time I felt Mike slow down I would try to pass him. It was working too. He would pick it right back. Actually, my strategy was probably working a little too well. By 6 miles we were still flying down hill, but my legs were totally trashed. Never in my life have I run that hard that long downhill.
We were passing the 6 mile water stop and I went for the Gatorade. Half of it went all over me and the rest went into my tummy, but when I looked up, Mike had put 25 meters on me. Up to this point on the down hills, I would push him along but on the up hills he would gap me.
Now, those 25 meters couldn't be undone. My legs would not let me close the gap. And, Mike kept checking over his shoulder to make sure I wasn't gaining. We hit a couple of uphill sections and Mike's lead grew. I was not exactly slowing down. More so, he was getting faster. My legs were just shot from running downhill. I really needed to be running 5:30s but was running more like 5:50 miles.
In some of the longer straight sections of the course, I could still see him through the drizzle and fog.
Around 8 miles, I came over a rise and saw this figure stranding alongside the road. At first, I thought maybe Mike's foot had done him in but no, it was Ben. His calf had cramped up from the repeated downhill miles. So he was left waiting beside the road. (Yes, I drove back up, picked him up, and then drove back to the finish). He yelled something about come pick me up to which I responded "come on". To no avail, he was done and out of the race.
I felt bad for him but heck, I still had a race to run and I was now in 3rd OA. It was now time to take systems check. Body was totally beaten up but Rick had dropped back so no one was pressuring me to run any harder. All I had to do was hold it together for another 5 miles. Sounds easy right?
While there are some climbs in the middle of the course, the little climbs in the 13th mile felt the toughest to me. Partly, this was due to me starting to run out of gas. Okay, mostly, it was me actually running out gas.
I kept looking at my Garmin and wondering where the finish line was. Finally, I rounded this corner and in the distance, I could see Mike heading for the finish. Mental signals were sent from my brain to my legs; go now.
I crossed the finish line in 1:16:32. This was 42 seconds behind Mike and 3+ minutes behind Josh. Clearly, this was a decent effort for a 46 year dud who has not done a lick of speed work in months.
In retrospect, David and his team did a great job with the race. Other than a few extra porta potties needed at the start, I could not find anything wrong with the race. The miles were all marked. Water stops were every two miles. Results were out timely. The race shirt was awesome.
There are some runner beware notices. The course follows some quiet country roads both paved and gravel. Along the course there are a lot of blind corners where if the runner follows the tangent, they are right in the path of oncoming traffic so be careful. Also I do have to point out with all of the rain the gravel section was muddy which made running difficult, but it was difficult for everyone. So I am not complaining about it, but just wanted to point out the fact.
Is it a PR? It can be but a runner needs to handle the steep downhill sections well and should really work on their leg turnover beforehand. One of things that bothered me today was that I hadn't done any speed work so my legs were turning over a lot faster than usual. This wears them down much faster.
Oh, I don't want to forget. Sharon D. ran a great time 1:33:29 for the 3rd Female overall and Richard H ran 1:32:11 1st Age Group. Bobby finished in 1:22:16 and was the first Masters runner. Kudos to them for their efforts.
David already has the results posted here
Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner.
Comments