2011 Holiday Lake 50K++

Three long years ago Holiday Lake was my first ultra. I remember that weekend vividly as I packed up my wife and 5 month old daughter for a weekend journey into the unknown. I had no idea the adventure, pain, struggle, will power, and pure joy that day would be the catalyst for. People often ask me why I want to run such long distances by myself in the woods. I honestly do not have an answer for them. I don't know if you are born with it, or if it is like a healthy virus that infects you when you are around other like minded runners. Once ultras get their hooks into there is no turning back.

Much has changed since that cool and sunny February day back in 2008. My little girl is now 3 and refuses to give me a hug when I come home from a run if I am sweaty (she asks if I was racing and says "Daddy, your all wet!"). My fitness level and race knowledge have also grown through training and race experience. So I decided to come back to Holiday Lake once again to try and quantify how much things have changed.  
    

Farmville Super Meth, No I Mean Super 8

The Super 8 Hotel in Farmville, VA is horrible. DO NOT STAY HERE. Kathy, Sydney, and I arrived Friday night before the race and checked in. The first thing that should have raised a red flag was the "Meth Watch Participant" sticker on the front door. I guess they have a meth problem in Farmville. The room was dirty and there were stains on the chair. The bed was very uncomfortable and the pillows were flat. We tried to go to bed early but were kept awake all night by the guy or girl upstairs watching a loud tv and jumping around, and the people running up and down the stairs. I finally fell asleep around 2AM, only to wake up for the race at 4:30. This was one of the many times in my life I wish I had a gun with me. Kathy commented that she did not feel very safe here.

Kathy dropped me off at the race and had to go back to this hole in the wall. When checkout time came she had to make multiple trips to the car with Sydney in tow. A rude man asked her if she was done in there. The clerk tried to kiss Sydney. I would have went off at this. The meth residue may have gotten on her! That is the last time I stay at a super 8. I would rather stay in my car.

If you see either of these as you go to check in to your hotel get in your car and drive away as fast as possible.

Holiday Lake 50K++ 2008 Race Report

Friday evening I loaded up my wife and 5 month old daughter and we headed to Farmville to spend the night at a Super 8 motel. We arrived with no problem. I tried to sleep but the race was dancing through my head and the person in the room above us was watching a loud tv and jumping around. Finally around 2AM I fell asleep only to be woke up by my alarm at 4:30. I woke Kathy and Sydney up and got dressed. It was 10 degrees warmer than I first thought it would be, a great sign. We drove the 40 minutes to Holiday Lake and Kathy dropped me off in the parking lot. I was very anxious and nervous. This was my first Ultra, I have never even run a marathon before, but I had trained hard and was 100% injury free. I walked to the dining hall to find a busy scene of strong looking athletes. I remember feeling a little out of place at that moment and not sure about what I was getting myself into. I checked in and got my race number. Then I prepared for the run. I started talking to a man named John and he eased my nerves. We all went down to the start line and Dr. Horton called out names of those people who had not signed in yet. One lady yelled from the parking lot "I am coming". Then without any fanfare we were off.

We ran up the road and hit a large bottle neck were the course turned into single track. It was slow going until we crossed the dam. Then things opened up a bit. I was feeling good at this point. I was carrying two water bottles, which was one to many. This gave me the luxury of skipping the first aid station all together. I ran hard down the hill after this aid station and into the woods. I was taking an occasional walk break, mainly on the uphills. This was all part of my race plan. As we hit the pavement I was running hard again downhill. I was thinking about how much fun it was going to be coming back up all these hills in lap 2.

I arrived at the second aid station and filled up a bottle. I quickly ate some food and continued on to the first water crossing. I crossed on some rocks, next time I will just run right through. We ran down a long hill and then back up the other side. Aid station 3 was more of the same, fluid and food. I was still feeling great. I was at 12.3 miles when I passed Bradley Mongold, the eventual winner. Of course he was going the other way! I was announced as I entered aid station 4.

I was feeling good about making the first loop in 3 hours and hopefully on pace for a 6:30 finish, but the extra distance I heard rumors about had other ideas. The last few miles of the first loop was difficult as I was passing other runners on steep and narrow single track trails. I finally hit the start finish and had plenty of time to spare. I dropped a water bottle and continued into the second loop.

The second loop was like a late round heavy weight fight. I was on the ropes for a while, but as they say things do not always get worse. The trip back to aid station 4 was long and brutal, but I fought hard and made it. On this section I saw a lady running in a long heavy dress. She looked like she belonged in another era. I thought I was seeing things for a while, but my wife and I saw her on the road as we were driving away from the race. Very strange experience.

After I saw the lady in the dress I tucked in behind an experienced runner named Pete and struck up a conversation. We ran together to the next aid station. Soon after this he passed me and I never saw him again.

The trip from aid station 3 to 2 was almost all uphill and I walked a lot of it. Pete had told me not to walk to much because it gets addicting and before you know it you will be walking for 10 minutes. This section is where it began to feel better running than walking. Aid station 2 to aid station 1 was another struggle, but overall I was feeling better. I stopped at one point to clear the debris from my shoe and then continued on. I heard the cow bell ringing as I approached aid station 1. Only 3.5 miles to go!

Everything was feeling good now. I had weathered the storm and made it to the last round. I realized that I could make it in under 7 hours if I picked up my pace a little. I started to run as hard as I could. I was not going to walk, I wanted 7 hours bad. I dug deep inside myself. I wish I could of found this inner strength 10 miles ago, but at least I had it now. As I neared the dam a lady passed me. She looked fresh and was moving very fast. I crossed the dam and soon could hear the finish line across the lake. I was running hard now. I passed another runner named Sam who had been leap frogging me most of the second loop. He said "looks like you get the last pass". I told him to follow me and we can make it in under 7 hours. He started running hard behind me down the trail.

I pushed hard up the last hill and onto the road. I knew I was going to make 7 hours. As I sprinted down the hill I saw my wife and daughter, video camera in hand cheering me on. What a great way to end the race. I finished in under 7 hours and Sam finished right on my heels. We had done it. It was a great feeling to shake Dr. Horton's hand as I finished and congratulate Sam. It felt great to hug my wife and hold my daughter.

Thank you Dr. Horton for putting on a great event. Thank you to all the volunteers for giving up a beautiful day to make this possible. Thank you to Kathy for always being my number one fan. Lastly and most importantly thank you Jesus for giving me the ability to complete such a task. I now have the Ultra bug. I could not have asked for a better race or better weather (50 and sunny) to run my first Ultra.



Full Photo Albumn

Results
Professional Picture

 

Quick Thoughts

I will be publishing a full race report soon and a report on our "Meth Watch" hotel experience Friday night! I just wanted to get these quick thoughts down for now.

• It was a perfect day. 40 - 55 degrees and sunny with litte wind


• The race ended up being 34 miles (measured with my Garmin Forrunner 305)


• I finished in 6:58 and change


• I had my best run the last 3 miles after a grinding second lap


• Chips Ahoy Cookies taste great while running


• Never stay in a Super 8 hotel


• I do not like Clif Shot sports drink


• I am now officially addicted to these races, most fun I have ever had running by far


• Only once thought "The fun level has reached an all time low!" This quote was made famous by my friend Steve during a backpacking trip


• Middle age women can kick my butt

I could go on forever with my list here, but I will save the details for the next few posts. Hopefully I will have some time tonight to complete my race report, hotel report, and a "what I ate" entry.

T - 1

It is not Friday and tonight we are off to a hotel near the race. I have to check in at 6AM. I got a lot of sleep last night and feel great today. There is a flu going around work, but so far I have managed to avoid it. I have enjoyed eating Kraft Macaroni and Cheese last night and today. I am going to eat pretty heavy today early and then light tonight. This is something new I am going to try. I feel pretty sluggish on most race days I have experienced so far, maybe this will help. The weather is looking so so. The high for the day is 40 with a start temp of 32. Ideally it would be 45 to 55. I will have to make a decision on what to wear and weather or not I should carry both bottles.

Wish me luck. More after the race....

T-2

I ran this morning for the first time since Monday morning. It was cold and snowy here, well sort of snowy. I decided to run through 2 large areas of standing water that formed in the grass where I run. They were about 6 inches deep and Baily loved them. I though he was going to roll around in them. That dog loves cold water. This exercise was to simulate the stream crossings I will face on Saturday. It was COLD, but only for a few minutes and then my feet started to warm up. I really do believe that within an hour of a soaking like that my feet may be dry. I will have to test that theory out. The SmartWool socks are great.

The run felt good, even though it was only 4 miles. I was pretty effortless. Now I just need to sit back and relax and eat a lot of carbs. I cannot wait for Saturday to come.

Here is a pick of Baily hanging out at the beach. Proof that he loves to be wet and dirty.

T - 3 Until Race Day

It is almost here! I am run down this week and tired. I ran 3 miles Monday morning and felt good, but have not run since. Tonight I am going to put in 5 or 6 and maybe I will run 2 on Friday morning. I do not perform well with more than one day off at a time. Somehow I have been seeded at number 55 / 260 (see for yourself). I believe these seeds are based on predicted finishing order. I guess I have some high expectations to meet. Last night I had a scratchy throat and did not sleep well. I feeling pretty good today but it is a wait and see pattern for now. I am going to take it really easy on tonights run. More soon, I promise.

Holiday Lake Course Map

Race director Dr. David Horton emailed out a map of the race course. I have attached it below for your viewing pleasure. It is not the best quality, but does show aid station locations. Today I ran 3 cold miles, it was around 28 degrees outside and my run felt good. My heart rate was low while my pace was faster than normal. I feel things are coming together. More after my long run tomorrow.

Holiday Lake 50K Preparation

It is now only 23 days until the race. I am getting excited about it and my miles are going up. Luckily I have remained uninjured and feeling pretty good through this mileage increase. This week my mileage will spike at around 56 miles and then a slight taper will begin. I hate the idea of the taper, but deem it necessary to success, especially with my less than gradual mileage increase. I cannot wait to get out there and test out my body. I have been doing mainly base training lately and keeping a sharp eye on the heart rate monitor. It will be very satisfying to just go out and run with heart, run as fast as my legs will take me! Trust me this is not very fast. I am a work in progress.

I now present my training plan leading up the the race:

This week -> Today 2 recovery Miles; Friday 4 easy miles; Saturday 26+ trail miles for a total of 56 on the week- all of this at base training pace

Week of Jan. 28 -> total of 50 miles with a 20 mile trail long run

Week of Feb. 4 -> total of 40 miles with a 12 mile long run (hopefully this short of a long run is not a mistake)

Race Week Feb. 11 -> Runs of 2 to 3 miles every day leading up to the race. I do not do well with days off, so I will run every day up to the race, once again hopefully not a mistake.

That is the plan for now. I must then focus on the build-up for the Laurel Highlands Ultra in June. I think I will put down some more base and then start to work on other things. I do not anticipate my mileage going much above 50 - 60 per week.

Pre Holiday Lake 50K #1

I filled out my entry blank for my first Ultra attempt, the 2008 Holiday Lake 50K. I just need to finalize some plans before it goes in the mail. I am very psyched up about this race and can hardly wait for it to happen. I have boosted my weekly mileage up to 50 and have been feeling good. I slowed down my pace and am trying to keep my heart rate at 75% or lower. This is very hard, but I must keep up the base mileage routine. I am just going to train base prior to this race. Maybe this will be a huge mistake. Time will tell.

My current plan breaks down like this:

1. Train base mileage and some hills prior to the race


2. Maintain 50+ miles per week


3. Stretch my long run out to 25 miles, only running it on local trails to reduce impact on my ankles


4. Continue to strength train 3 times per week


5. Run 6 days a week, maybe 7 if I feel up to it


6. Continue to eat properly to help drop a few pounds prior to the race

Thats it. If I can stick to this I will be in pretty good shape. After this race is over I will focus on some more specific training for my next Ultra in June.