Sunday, June 18, 2006

A Year of Long Distance - Race#5
Mount Greylock Half Marathon Trail Race
Sunday, June 18, 2006

2006 Mt Greylock Trail Races results
Mt Greylock Trail Races info

2006 Mt Greylock Half Marathon Trail Race Photo Slideshow

Hopefully the race organizers will forgive me if I hereafter refer to the Greylock Half Marathon (actually more like 14 miles, according to the RD) as the Greylock Death March. Between the long uphills, the steep downhills, and the technical terrain (oh, and a little heat, too) it seemed a lot more like that than a trail run...

After my tough time at Nipmuck, I approached Greylock with a certain amount of trepidation. While the distance wasn't a concern (I can hike 14 miles in about 5 hours if need be) all the uphill and downhill was... and as the weekend got closer and the forecast called for oppressive heat and humidity, that just added to the anticipated fun. Especially since much of my running so far this year has been in chilly conditions and rain. So I really had NO idea how this was going to go.

As with last year, things were buzzing at the Greylock Glen... especially the flies! Those little buggers were everywhere. One difference is a lot of people seemed to be trying to stay in what little shade there was while waiting for the fun to start. I also ended up parked a bit further away, so I tried to minimize trips to the car.



Bob Dion, the man behind Dion Snowshoes and all around great guy, did the pre-race briefing. As with his talk before Monroe Dunbar Brook last October (the weekend of the Great Flood) he showed a definite way with words...

BD: OK, for those of you doing the long course, it's about 3.5 miles to the top. The further you go, the steeper it gets. So if you're boxed in at the beginning and stuck walking, the folks you're with might be doing you a favor... (as a side note, I heard Bob telling someone earlier that the front runners would hit the top in 30 minutes, the mid-pack in 45 min to an hour... so I was expecting 75 to 90 minutes to get there. Wahoo.)

BD: right after the aid station at the top, you're going to hit what looks like an easy downhill, and just as you pick up speed you'll hit the nastiest section of the whole run. Ledges, loose greasy rocks, terrible footing. Slow down and take it easy. After that you'll hit a section that's all roots and rocks and overgrown, so you can't see your footing. Helen Keller trail running. We tried putting some Braille rocks out there for you, but again - take it easy and be careful! (no surprise, Bob was right on the money for these sections...)

BD: from there on, the trail gets better. The further you go, the better the trail gets. At Jones Nose, there's a great view. If you're going to look at the view, I'd recommend you stop or you may find yourself going off Jones Nose. Three years ago, when we first started using the current course, I hit Jones Nose and went airborne, head down and... well, I'm still alive. (again, right on the money.)

BD: from there on, the trails great, you'll be able to really move. (well, maybe Bob and the runners like him were able to...)

And a few minutes later... off we went!

One of the things about the Greylock races (both start at the same time) that frustrated me last year are the two bottlenecks right off the starting line... having learned from last year, I didn't even try to run. Besides, I knew I'd be walking soon enough anyway. About a quarter mile out, the short course went left, and we headed right, to start our march up the mountain. Very little running, because it was essentially non-stop uphill on a mix of single and doubletrack. The last mile or so was very steep. A couple of pluses - (1) it was mostly shaded, (2) there were other folks hiking along with me (so I wasn't the only one walking up the mountain!), and (3) the woodpeckers were having a good time in the forest... periodically you'd hear them rapping away on a tree. And after 75 minutes - we were at the top! That felt good, especially the anticipation of getting to actually run.







Just over the top was the first aid station - I tossed one empty bottle and refilled another (I'd gone through 40 oz of fluids on the way up the mountain.) Then I headed off down the trail... and soon hit the nasty section. So much for running. I managed some short runs, but most of it was too technical for me to run without risking blowing out my knees. So - back to hiking!




Eventually, we came out on a dirt road, and hit the next aid station, at about the 6 mile mark. At that point there were three of us in fairly close proximity... presumably the back of the proverbial pack. Refilled an empty water bottle again (still had about 1 1/2 bottles of energy/electrolyte drink, too) and headed off on the trail to Jones Nose. Initially it was very runnable, which was enjoyable, but it got more technical as it approached the rocky outcroppings (the Nose) and after that - the trail went almost straight down. So... more hiking. At the bottom there was a nice running section through a meadow... well, nice except for the brutal sun. And then I hit the last aid station, and was told I had 4 miles to go (actually, it turned out to be more like 4.5...)





Checked the time, just under 3 hours... not great for 9.5 miles, but not awful considering all the hiking I'd had to do. Hit the trail again, and it turned out to be downhill on a jeep road... wahoo! Finally a long runnable stretch (I thought) AND the possibility of coming in under 4 hours. Unfortunately, 10 minutes later the downhill turned into uphill, and while it wasn't too steep, I just didn't have any juice left in my legs to run uphill. So... back to hiking. About 20 minutes later, it was back to downhill, but the road was badly washed out (in other words, all loose rock) so the running was tough. Footing was tricky and my feet took a pounding from all the rocks. Some nice scenery crossing streams and so on... but that road seemed to go on forever.




Eventually the course left the road and headed off on a hiking trail. Fewer rocks, but a lot steeper... yes indeed more hiking. Eventually it hit the 2nd half of the short course, which is very pretty... but at that point in the game for me, all the downhills meant more walking. The last stretch was pretty good - managed to run to the finish line, and crossed it half dead in 4 hr 18 min 31 sec. Grabbed a bite to eat, then headed back to the car, changed clothes, and drove back to Albany, sucking down fluids all the way.

Apparently I was NOT the last person to come in... I knew there were two other runners behind me, but the race results show five folks crossed the line after I did (I don't know where the other three came from! Maybe they took a long break at the top of the mountain?)

So that was one heck of a tough "run" and one that has left me with no doubt that I am nowhere near ready to do Escarpment, since that makes this look like a piece of cake. I'm giving some thought to things I can do to improve - the three long races I've done this year have been mighty difficult, and I'd like to feel like I'm getting better the more I run rather than worse!

Next up: depending on how my legs feel, probably the Summer Solstice Run down at Lake Minnewaska State Park. And definitely the 25K loop of the Finger Lakes Fifties on July 1...

JMH

2006 event totals
snowshoe - 3 miles, 59.5 min
running - 66 miles, 18 hr 20 min
riding - 32.4 miles, 2 hr 32 min