Wednesday, April 20, 2011

SweetH2O 50K

50K runner finishing

It had been six weeks since the GRR 100 and during that six-week period I ran fewer miles than I typically would during a normal week of training. The GRR had done a number on my legs to a point that I could not have imagined. I had some “Mad as Hell” tendons behind my knees and they did not want to run anymore. Finally, about a week before the race my legs were feeling much better, but my tendons would still get tight if I sat down too long.

SweetH2O 50k was my first ultra back in 2009 and in fact, it was my first trail race and my first race over 10 kilometers. That year I finished the race in 5:54 and the next year was 6:21. With Johnny Buice, the Race Director, you don’t know what to expect except the unexpected. In 2009, I think the route was a little short, but Johnny made up for it with the famous bushwhack straight up a steep hill at mile 28 that left some runners weeping in the woods. In 2010, the 50k was more like a 54k. Of course, it wouldn’t be SweetH2O without the added adversities. That’s one of the things I love about trail races, you never know what’s going to be thrown your way during the race; weather conditions, illness, route changes, or even equipment malfunction. This year it was the weather the night before the race.

There were huge storm systems moving through the Southeast the night before the race with heavy rain, thunder storms and tornadoes. Luckily, the storms weakened by the time they reached the Atlanta area during the middle of the night but still dropped a lot of rain. When Tallie and I got to Sweetwater Park, we found out that Johnny had to take the Sweetwater Creek crossings out of the race because the guide ropes were under water. No Sweetwater Creek crossings meant we would not run the 1.5 mile yellow trail section on the other side of the creek so Johnny decided to have us do two identical loops to make up for the mileage. The Windward Road Runners huddled up at the start line including Heidi, Lara, Alan, Don, Samantha, Candy, Christy and Jason. Everyone had run this race before except Christy and boy did she have a surprise waiting for her at the Top of the World.


With just a few minutes left before the start, Johnny explained the course changes and then had everyone line up at the start. I gave Tallie a kiss and made my way to the front of the group and then off we went.


The first mile or so was on a road so it’s a great place to start off fast and get some separation from the rest of the runners before we hit the woods. As we ran around the lake on the road, there were 10 runners ahead of me and they were flying. Soon we were on the single track trail and the first thing I hit was a big mud puddle bringing back nightmares of the GRR, but mud wouldn’t play a big part in this race at all. After a ½ mile run through the woods, I got to the concrete spillway crossing which was about 100 feet wide and around a foot deep of water. After pulling myself out of the spillway with the installed ropes, I was off running again through the woods. The trail went up to the lake and then I turned left and jumped over a few fallen trees. I ran along the side of the lake and then the trail dropped off to the left down a rocky hill to a small, but deep and muddy creek crossing. 


The next section was a nice trail along Sweetwater Creek with a few quick drops but not any big climbs. At the 2.5 mile mark, I came to the location of the canceled creek crossing and sure enough one of the ropes was completely submerged. I ran along the yellow trail until it hit the red trail, which is the most used trail in the park and is a great trail for fast running. Next was the blue trail, which has some small climbs but not too bad. At the end of the blue trial is a long set of stairs leading down to the creek and the white trail. Since the water was so far up in the creek, it was actually crossing some small sections of the trail. There were a few technical sections on the white trail before it opened up into a nice runnable trail. I picked up my speed a little until I reached the edge of the park at a small creek. There used to be a bridge here, but it was washed away last year during some flooding and now there’s just a plank to cross the creek. There was a volunteer standing at the creek directing traffic and he was very enthusiastic about his job, which was great. This is the entrance to the Top of the World.

Leaving the park, the trail is pretty flat and sandy crossing over an area with many fallen trees from the flooding mentioned before. The first short climb brought me to the power lines and a volunteer telling me to keep going straight. After crossing the power lines, there was a short downhill to another small creek crossing with 2 planks that looked a bit unsteady. After the crossing, I took a sharp left and right around the corner was the first good hill climb. I had run the entire way so far and I decided to keep running as long as I could even on the hills. The climb really got my heart pumping before I reached the top and took off down the other side to a small bridge. The next mile or so was on a nice trail with rolling hills, small creek crossings and a few mud puddles. This section was actually easy, but it seemed to take forever. At the end of the trail, I climbed a small hill to reach the aid station at the edge of a neighborhood. At the aid station, they refilled my bottle for me as I grabbed a few slices of oranges and replacement GU for the one I had just finished off. The guys at the aid station pointed me in the right direction and I took off down a makeshift trail along a wall and then back up to the side of a road for a very short distance until I reached the trailhead. At the start of the trail there was a sign reading “Nature Trail”, which made me laugh a little because that made it sound so nice. I was on the trail for just a few minutes and then the route split off to the left to a nice flat open area where I was able to really pick up my speed. Soon, I reached a utility building and a gravel road that turned to the left and up a hill. I was still running and feeling great. Next up was the gas lines and I ran the first two hills. After the second hill, the trail veered off to the left and down a steep hill into a ravine with a lot of rocks. At the bottom of the hill was another creek crossing.

I was still running up to this point, but up next was “The WALL”.

ravinehill

The trail goes straight up the hill at what feels like a 90° pitch. Of course, I was walking at this point and not moving very fast at all. Once I reached the top, I turned to the left and was able to see the roller coaster hills ahead of me.

topoftheworld

I said the F-word a few times and then started running again. I was able to run down the hills, but had to walk up the hills because they are so steep. I think there are 4 hills until you reach the Top of the World. After the TOTW, there was a nice dirt road leading to the next aid station at a school. This was a mile long out and back section so I got to see the leaders running back at me. After the aid station, I turned around and ran right back to the TOTW which let me see who was behind me. As I was running down from the TOTW, I saw Heidi and she was only about 2 miles behind me. Next up were the power lines, which cut off to the left of the gas lines. The power lines had one really steep, quad killing downhill and two steep hill climbs. At the bottom of the power lines I reached the trail with the volunteer directing me to the right. I ran back towards the park and the small creek crossing with the enthusiastic volunteer yelling at me to keep on keeping. Next was Jack’s Hill, which is a long gradual hill that gets a little steep at the very top where the last aid station is located. I got my bottle refilled and grabbed some food and headed out to the start/finish area.

Once I got close to the Start Line, I knew I had to retrace the first loop or at least I was hoping to. I kept thinking that Johnny would throw in some big surprise to make up for the big creek crossing. During the first half of the second loop I was feeling pretty good. I did take a little more time at each creek crossing to let my calf muscles soak a bit in the cold water. Right before I reached the gas lines, I noticed Sally Brooking catching up with me. She was the first place female. She has passed me the last 2 years in this race. This year she was passing me much later in the race, which was a great sign for me. We hit “The Wall” at the same time and moaned and groaned our way up together. I asked her how this race ranked with the other races we had both ran and we agreed it was harder than Stump Jump but not close to the Up Chuck. Once we reached the TOTW, she took off and left me in her dust. Sally was leaving the aid station at the school as I was arriving. I refueled and headed on my way. Soon after I left the aid station the second place female was running in. Before I reached the TOTW, she passed me heading out for Sally. I couldn’t wait to find out if Sally was able to hold on to the lead. At the start of the power lines, a park ranger told me I had 4 miles left to the finish. I turned to ask him if that is really all I had left and he said yes. I was so happy that I turned back around and almost ran into a tree. On the power lines, I could see Sally cresting the second hill as the second place female was starting the first hill.  

As I was running back towards the park, I ran into Lara and Samantha heading out to the TOTW. They looked like they were feeling good and having fun. I was able to run the rest of the race fairly strong and never ran into any other runners. I finished 22 overall in 5:48. Since I was shooting for a 6 hour finish, I was very happy with my results. But, I was even happier with being able to finish the race strong. My legs felt better after this race than they have after any ultra before. Tallie was there at the finish like she always is and I appreciate everything she does for me. Christy was also at the finish line, deciding to stop after the first loop. Finishing one loop of this rough course is quite an accomplishment especially after running a marathon two weeks before and a 100-mile bike ride in between. One of my favorite parts of trail races is staying around to watch everyone else finish. I love seeing how excited people get when they finish a tough race like this. Heidi finished next at 6:30 and took a lot of time off her previous two SweetH2O finishes. Don and Candy came in at about the same time at 7:30. Next up was Lara and Samantha (8:00) who took 47 minutes off their time from last year and Alan finished up about 10 minutes behind them. I was very excited to see Jason Rodgers finish at 8:43, which was more than a full hour faster than last year. Oh yeah, Sally was able to finish 3 minutes before the second place female.


Congratulations to all the runners and thank you Johnny and all the volunteers for putting on such a great race. I’ll see you next year.

Up next is Enoree Passage 40 Miler.