February 20, 2010
Saturday was the 5th Annual running of the Black Warrior Trail Runs. Held near Moulton, Alabama in the Bankhead National Forest, the courses for 50km and 25km are mostly single-track trails over rolling terrain. The trails are frequently used by horses and when combined with a wet January, the course typically 'features' shoe-sucking mud with unstable footing. The lead in to both distances includes an immediate mile long climb on a gravel road, ascending up 275' before cresting out and continuing on for another mile and half. Then the single track section begins with the 25km running just the Key Mill (Orange Blaze) 10 mile loop before returning to the trail head and running the gravel road back to the finish.This year I was running the 25km distance as a final tune up for next weekend's goal race at Mount Cheaha 50km. Cheaha is part of the Ultra Cup so the competition is sure to be top notch. Last year at Black Warrior I managed a 4:15 and 4th overall place in the 50km under similar conditions. In 2009 most of the top-tier competition ran in the longer distance, with the top 8 finishing under 4:30 and top 14 under 5 hours. This year that trend did not hold true as the top runners were all doing the same thing as me; using it as a final hard run before an upcoming race. That just meant better competition to help push me to run my best.
The temperatures in the low-lying Brushy Lake Recreational Area were frigid at 27 degrees. As runners lined up on a very small bridge at the starting line, we shivered mightily, but within the first mile I was already pushing my arm sleeves down around my forearms. It was a very fast start, with the 25km runners shooting up and aggressively starting the climb from the gun. Hills are strength so I was out quickly too, moving into 2nd before the top of the 5% grade climb, holding a low 7 pace. The lead runner was nearly out of site already and would go on to shatter the course record.
Here is the course elevation profile.
As the gravel road flattened, I locked into a six minute pace for the next mile and a half to the Key Mill trail head. As I entered the forest, Tim Vinson from Huntsville had caught up to me and we ran together for the fist half of the loop until the FSR 262 road crossing. This section of trail was fairly fast with just a few places with standing water. The most difficult part was that with each step in the mud, I was unsure if I would sink in, possibly losing a shoe and/or not being able to push off for my next stride, or if the cooler temperatures of the morning had harden the mud and a possible ankle twist might happen. This uncertainty continued for the rest of the day as each muddy section was unpredictable.
I was wearing the inov-8 Roclite 305 for this race. I mostly chose this shoe because it wears fast both on the roads and on the trails and with this race being a mixture of both it seemed smart. In hindsight, I wish that I had worn my Roclite 295's. Both shoes work well in mud with the spaced out tread pattern, but the 295's seem to hold slightly less water when they are wet and muddy. I knew how muddy this course would be and my current 305's were about at the end of their life and I really did not want to trash a fresh pair of 295's on this short distance race. SO in the end, I felt like I labored just a little more with heavy feet than I had to. Maybe I should followed suit with DeWayne Satterfield and tried the inov-8 X-Talon 212's?
Running with Tim, I was probably more aggressive early on than I had planned to be. I had laid out an approach where I would run between 7:30 and 8:00 minute miles for the technical portions and try to hold this pace. As we crossed Forest Service Road 262 and continued on the Orange Loop, we were tracking at 30 to 60 seconds faster than this pace, with 9 miles to go. Tim stopped to grab a drink from the aid station, while I continued through since I was carrying my Ultimate Direction hand bottle. I used to small gap to ease back on the pace but as soon as he caught up, we were right back to low seven minute pace.
Being good friends with Tim, we did talk along the way, despite it being very short sentences given the pace. At one point I mentioned that I was not trying to avoid the mud, I was just afraid to lose a shoe. Ironically, at about the 7-mile mark, Tim lost a shoe in the mud and fell back. Looking at my splits, I slowed slightly, but it was only a matter of minutes until he caught back up. As we ran through a fairly technical section with deep hoof imprints in the mud, I tweaked my left ankle. This injury goes back to when I was a kid and severely sprained my ankle when jumping off a 10' platform into the snow. Ever since then, when I step on uneven ground with my heel low and my forefoot pushes straight up to my ankle, I nearly buckle in pain. Tim saw me take a few steps forward gingerly and asked if I was ok. My standard response was that it was fine, but really I was just trying to not admit that this was the beginning of the end for me in this race. Once it happens, my ankle/foot won't solidly plant and I would go on to tweak it several more times during the rest of the race.
Just before the aid station, I let Tim pass through and the younger kid that had caught up to us soon passed by. We all made the left at the 50k/25k split but it wasn't long before they pulled away as I had to ease up on the pace. Before the 10-mile mark, Rob Youngren had caught up easily with my pace now in the low 8's. He was feeling spry and sped by. Rob and I are very good friends, as we train together often and drove over to the race on this morning with his wife Kathy. We go back and forth on races; sometimes he takes me, sometimes I take him. He was clearly feeling better and it would be his day. So within 2 miles I had dropped from 2nd into 5th overall.
The final section of the Key Mill loop back to the gravel road is about a 300' climb over the next 3 miles, but the climb seems to never end. While it is nothing that requires walking, it is just roller coaster hills that continue to climb. I took the hill section at about 9 minute miles on average while struggling with my left ankle issues. The pain had migrated up my leg to my hip and made lifting my leg difficult and I had literally no push off. I could tell that my form was awful but I was still having a decent day and pushed through it.
Coming through the last aid station, I had just over 2.5 miles to go on the gravel road back to the finish line. After the hard right turn, I spotted a runner behind me, still down in the woods. I guessed that they were about 2 minutes back approximately so as I ran along I figured that if I could hold seven-minute pace, he would have to run a low 6 in order to make up the difference and catch me. I was struggling with tired legs from the distance, but split the first three half-mile sections on the road at 3:33, 3:26 and 3:21.
The last mile has the significant drop back to the start and then back to the park for the finish. It was painful even to run downhill but I managed to run a 6:30 final mile, while trying to catch a few glimpses behind me to make sure that I wasn't going to have to withstand any last sections surges. My finishing time was 1:51:41 for an average of 7:12 pace and a 5th overall placement. I have not seen the final results yet but I was able to hold off the next runner by at least several minutes.
The hardware for the top 5 overall finishers is pretty nice.
I learned a few valuable lessons with this race. No matter how many times I compete, it is nice to come away with a few things for next time.
1. Be sure to select footwear best for the course as it can make a big difference.
2. Do not let others dictate the pace.
3. Striding out to the front is futile if it means not being able to hold the pace late in the race.
4. It is possible to overcome mistakes and still finish strong.
5. I am able to deal with pain when the unexpected happens.
Now time to get a little healthy this week and prepare for Mountain Cheaha 50k next weekend.