Sunday morning before the race I'd woken up a little after 4:30, and today, the day after, I woke up about the same time, feeling beat up all over. I got a couple of ibuprofen into me and went back to bed, trying to feel comfortable enough to fall asleep again, but sleep after a hard effort is usually fleeting. It seems nothing is broken after all, and I felt good enough to walk a few miles later in the day. Four pounds of extra weight showed on the scale, the usual muscle-damage swelling after longer races.
The forecast all week had looked good, but checking Saturday I saw that the storms were going to linger on into Sunday, 30% chance of thunderstorms all day. It turned out there were no thunderstorms, but rain it did. Arriving at the start it was in the mid 60s, with a heavy overcast sky hanging very close over the mountains. The finish area at North Lake is about 2200 feet up the northeastern corner of the Catskill escarpment, with the race running from the northwest down the range of mountains that mark the northern escarpment of the Catskills.
Shortly after I parked, the rain began slowly but after ten minutes or so it was coming down pretty hard. I had not really decided which shoes I would wear, and only decided at the last minute to switch from the Montrail Masochists to the New Balance MT110s, reasoning that the lighter shoes would hold less water, and allow for more precise footing. The Masochists on the other hand had worked very well last year, and are better for faster 'bombing' down the trail without as much regard to foot placements. I knew there in the parking lot that we were in for a very wet day though, and foot placements would be key, so I chose the MT110s. The only problem with that choice was I'd never done a long run in those much more minimal shoes before, but had grown to love them for shorter and medium distance runs.
I quickly assembled the gear I would take, grabbed a big garbage bag for the rain, and got on the first bus headed for the start. The rain became soaking as I neared the bus jogging, and proceeded to dump on us for most of the 40 minute bus ride to the start, where it was no different, with everyone hovering under every bit of available cover, getting slightly chilled from the cold rain. Most of us were already very wet as we gathered across rt 23 for the start.
Despite being very aerobically fit this year, I never got my weight down enough to make a hard run at my PR on this course, so it was going to be a fun run for me. I lined up near the back, about forty people behind me, not wanting to waste myself on the first climb, up 3.5 miles and 1700 vertical feet. After 2 or 3 minutes of people ahead of me funneling into the tight single-track trail, I was jogging, and proceeded to jog and power hike up the first climb, getting passed by some people at first, so at one point there about a mile into the race, I had over two hundred people in front of me, all of them going harder than me up the first climb.
Eventually you find a group that's either going about the pace you want, or slower than you want, but you can't get past them all, so you settle in until the opportunity comes to pass later. When there's only a few people in front of you then you can ask to pass, but when there's 10 or 20, mostly people will try to hold there place in line. I don't try to inch my way forward in such circumstances, but instead try to take it in stride and save something for later. Two-thirds up the climb I was behind a group of 10, and then they moved ahead and I was pacing with a couple of others behind them. After topping Windham though, we quickly came to the aid station and there were lots of people standing there, so I just took a big sip of Gatorade and kept going, passing a bunch right there. I was about 58 minutes up Windham, 10 minutes slower than my best time up it, but perfect for this day.
The rain had been steady and cool for that first hour, and the footing horrible. Many people had already fallen near me, and there would be many more falls throughout the day. The concentration to keep upright going up the first climb was intense, passing over the long rooty sections nearer the bottom, and the very rocky sections higher up on the mountain. But after Windham, the first short technical downhill was horribly slippery, and the group in front of me virtually stopped. I tried to be patient as they hiked down, too many to pass right there, but it was also a chance to rest a little after an hour of climbing at a pretty high effort (HR 160, about 83% maximum), and contemplate the rest of the run.
The rain continued hard, the trail waterlogged mud and slick rocks. After a little while I was able to pass some of the runners who were having trouble navigating the very rocky areas of the trail, and I felt better having a little running room. Later in the day I would play leapfrog with groups who were faster than me on the easy sections of trail, but slowed way down on the steep downhills or technical rocky sections, where I would pass them. It was slightly frustrating, but I tried to take it in stride and just go at my own pace.
After Windham, the trail rolls for about 4 miles before the next big climb, Blackhead, but there is lots of very technical footing in there, and some smaller climbs and descents. You have to pace yourself in there to save something for later in the race. It was somewhere in this rambling section before Blackhead that I had a hard fall, basically tripping and going straight down, catching myself with my hands, push-up style, but also banging my left knee pretty hard on the rocks. I was running with several others and of course everyone asked if i was ok. I had seen a guy not much before slide out and land on his back on a downhill-lying slab of rock, and a few others, but of course I felt stupid falling myself. The shock of falling forced me to walk for a few minutes as I ascertained the extent of any injuries I might have suffered. Aside from a painful left knee that hurt for quite a while, I had deep bone bruises in the palms of both hands where they hit rocks (at the time I thought I'd fractured something in my left hand), and a cut on my right hand. When my blood started circulating normally I started to run again. You can see where my HR dropped down below 120,where I fell. The later blip nearer the end of the race was when I stopped to pee and also dig out the 8.4 oz red bull I'd been carrying to pour it in my bottle.
Alone after the fall, I slowly picked up my pace again as I felt better. I caught up to a British guy running the race for the first time. He was a sub-3 marathoner and said he trained mostly on trails, but nothing like the escarpment trail. He was fast and was running ok, but I passed him going through some technical sections just before the Blackhead climb. At that point in the race I was just happy to be intact after the fall, but I never lost my confidence on the technical sections -- they will always be my favorite part of any trail run.
Just before the Blackhead climb, I had passed a few people, and was on the climb before I knew it, because the aid station that is normally there at the base of the climb was missing this year, but that was fine because the cooling rain persisted, making drinking a lot unnecessary. I started my slow power hike up the climb, expecting as usual to be passed by a few people, as my power-to-weight ratio is normally not as good as other runners for climbs, especially this year, but surprisingly nobody passed me and I caught up to several people. Later I would see my time up was slow, but since it was a fun run for me this year I didn't care.
At the top of Blackhead there was the usual cheerful group of volunteers who had carried up water and food, and the normal standing around of runners pausing after the climb. As always I thanked the volunteers, took a little gatorade and water in my bottle, grabbed a couple of cookies and started off down the steep descent to the east. This is the area a guy died in the winter a few years ago when it snowed so much that the trail markers high on the trees were completely covered with snow, a month or so after a friend and I had snow-shoed up, before those deep snows had come. I quickly came upon a few people struggling to navigate down some of the steep ledges on the descent, asked to pass, and was soon flowing nicely down the hill, controlling my effort, but enjoying it immensely.
The footing all day was fraught with disaster, slick mud coating the rocks and ledges, the trail very muddy and slick where bare ground was seen, and I adopted a strategy I'd solidified over the last year of training on very rocky stuff in Harriman park (which overall has more technical footing than the escarpment trail). Basically, to keep moving on the steep descents, I would step right on the sharp apex of the rocks, or on any jagged edge that was sticking up. Those were the only foot pants that would bite really. Other than that, I would plant with a force perpendicular to the rock surface, which might mean pushing off in a slightly different direction than was optimal, changing my running line, but keeping me moving faster, and upright, despite my one bad trip and fall earlier. I passed many people on the technical sections for the rest of the course.
From Blackhead down to Dutcher Notch, I felt pretty good, but wasn't going too fast: it was a fun run after all. I played leapfrog with some runners in here, them passing me on the easier sections, me catching and passing them on the technical parts. Before I knew it, I came upon the place where the trail curves sharply north, contouring around the mountain before the final steep descent into the notch. The run was like that this time, it came fairly easily, partly because I wasn't pushing as hard as a PR effort, and I think partly because I've logged far more time on my feet this year, with an explosion of additional hiking time on top of my running time. If fact run-hikes are now the norm for me, and I'm definitely on to something good there.
But how could the run come fairly easily and at the same time be brutal? The answer is that mentally it came easily, but physically it was very demanding, with concentration and some mid-air gymnastics necessary to keep your footing with the slick conditions. In Dutcher Notch, I fueled up with a few cookies and water, and started up the climb very slowly. The long last climb up Stoppell point can be a slog, and it was also hard this time. The rain was still coming down, but it was warmer now, just a little, at least I felt that way, and for the first time I felt like I was sweating more. A few people chose to follow me up the climb, liking my pace, which was a slow power hike on steeper stuff, and a slogging jog on less steep stuff. Actually this part of the course really bugs me because it has lots and lots of slight uphill, and I really hate running slight uphills for some reason.
Finally, after the long slight uphills, you hit the last steep part of the climb, and then see the downed plane. From there it's not much more to the aid station. I was feeling ok, but I had to pee, just a little bit, for a while, so I stopped somewhere in the pines after Stoppell point. While I was stopped, drinking my red bull and pausing a moment, the group that had been following me earlier and had paused much longer at the aid station, caught and passed me. I didn't care because this race is mostly about you and the course. While you see lots of people out there, you have to go at your own pace. Anyway I passed them again for good later. Resuming, I felt recharged and ready for a final push, and I flowed nicely down to North point, passing a couple of people. The rain had stopped, but everything was still soaked.
From North Point down to the finish is the final section I had been saving some energy for, and I started to pick up the pace and jam the technical sections that mark the final part of the course -- many steep little cliff-like ledges that can really slow down many people. At almost every little cliff, I would catch and pass people. One guy and I arrived at the top of one such section at the same time, but after I 'dropped' it efficiently, I was 50 feet down the trail, looked back and saw the same guy still standing at the top, looking for a way down. The rocks were slippery as hell and very dangerous. I got lucky not to fall in a few places, but overall enjoyed the last part a great deal, catching and passing at least 10 people from North Point down.
I finished up in 5:01:16, 98th place out of 230? I don't know the number of finishers, but I was happy with my effort, given the conditions. Overall, finishing times were pretty slow this year. I had passed over 100 people throughout the course, and was able to enjoy the technical parts, despite the tricky conditions.
After I finished I saw a guy I knew sitting with his head wrapped up. Turns out he had two pretty hard falls, the latter one near the finish where he hit his head pretty badly. He still managed 3:36 or so -- he's much faster than me obviously. Others were mulling around the finish with bandages, and the normal unique spirit of this race was at play, with people swapping stories of what happened out there. Patchy sunshine showed at the finish, and the day would be nice thereafter.
Ironically the EMT who helped me get my hand cut cleaned out told me there were many more casualties last year, when conditions were unusually dry, possibly because the dry conditions caused people to take more risks. I don't know, but I saw more people going down this year, including myself, and I've only had one other fall in the previous 7 years running escarpment.
In retrospect, going with the minimalist New Balance MT110s was a good choice for the day, but since I'd never gone long in them before, my calves got more beat up than usual. I don't think they slowed me down though, to the contrary.
So now with my 8th Escarpment trail in the books, I feel pretty good, if still a little beat up! My effort of heart rate average 159 or about 83% for the whole 5 hours wasn't bad, though I've run this race at 88% maximum heart rate before, so that shows the moderation of effort. I love this race because of the unique adventure it is every year, and plan to be back next year.
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