The week begins with the Sunday run (7/18) with the Reston Runners. I look over my plans for the week and wonder if I have signed up for too much. I have a long run planned on Tuesday as part of my preparation for the Wasatch 100 and a 50K trail run on Saturday.
The Sunday run on the W&OD is 16 miles. I start off with a group that includes Jim Bradford. I know this will be a rapid pace but I need to work on some speed. As we get closer to Vienna, I am running with Bob and we decide to go to the 10.5 mile marker. When we are almost to the turn around, we see Maria walking (how did she get so far ahead of us?). As we start back, Jim B. and Jim A. are running toward us and continue on toward the 10 mile marker, so we decide to do the same and turn back to go to the 10 mile mark. We return to the start and then go to the turn around at the other end by Reston Town Center (mile 18). At the water stop at the duck pond, Steve Burton and some others are there. Jim B. takes off with them at a faster pace but I decide to try to just maintain the pace. This years run feels much better than last year, but that may be mostly due to the cooler cloudy weather. It is a lot easier to do a faster paced run with a group than it is alone.
Monday’s run is a short run in the neighborhood to help the legs recover. Total mileage so far, just over 20 miles this week.
Tuesday I get up just before the alarm is due to go off at 3:15 AM. We are meeting by Haymarket and driving to the Wild Oak Trail down south by Bridgewater VA. Our goal is to put out aid and start by 7:30 AM. The run has three peaks over 4000 feet and the same number of major climbs, some which rise 3000’ between the base and peak. The goal is to train our legs for the over 5000’ climb at Wasatch. We start just after 7:30 and immediately begin climbing. The first peak, Little Bald, has a 3000’ gain in about 7 miles and takes about 2 hours. We make our way over the second peak, Big Bald and to the aid at about 15 miles. We refill our water from the 2 gallons left at the aid and start up the last major peak. In places along the trail, the grade is listed in the guide as 46% but this section does not even tell the grade (we agree it may be steeper). After the last peak, there are some level and gradual downhill sections where it feels good to stretch out the legs a bit. As we go along the last ridge before descending to the start, the camelback comes up dry. All six of us will run out of water on this final section. The final result is about 25+ miles in about 8 hours. Sometimes a short night is harder than the run.
Wednesday is time for the weekly speed work session. We arrive at the track to find out that the plan is for repeat 400s. My legs feel a bit dead and my quads are a bit sore. I try to do a bit extra warm up to get them moving and take it easy for the first two repeats. It does not feel too bad, so I try to follow Chris and Bruce for the next four repeats. The 400s go fairly well but on the last one (sixth), I can tell the fatigue in my legs is catching up after the first 200, so I decide that is enough (even after Anna’s admonition that we should really do ten repeats). The total miles for the workout adds about 5 to my weekly total, bringing the total to just over 50 miles for the week.
Thursday comes. I need a break, so no run today. Friday is too close to the Saturday run, so another rest day is planned.
Saturday, we get up early and drive down to the Catherine’s Big Butt 50K trail run. This is a run that is low key in the mountains near Luray. It has three major climbs including Bird Knob. My wife and daughter are with me to help at an aid station. We arrive at the parking lot that is used for the start and find a large crowd gathered. It is good to see a lot of runners from the VHTRC club that we have not seen for a while. The weather is close to perfect, cool, a bit humid and good cloud cover. The only question is whether the possible rain will happen. My goal is to finish, hopefully around 7 hours – I have doubts about how my legs will hold up.
I start off slowly, about a third of the way back in the pack, in order to let the faster runners go ahead and not be tempted to try to follow. After a few yards in the parking lot, we enter the single track trail and fall into line. In a short distance the trail starts climbing and I follow the group ahead mixing walking and running as we move toward the steeper climb up Bird Knob. There are a lot of familiar faces around including Farouk and Ed Cacciapaglia. After we get to the top of Bird Knob and admire the view into the valley from the overlook, the trail levels out but is rocky. I end up behind a group of about 12 runners, which is keeping a comfortable pace. Finally, the course has a quarter mile downhill on an old road and I decide to stretch out a bit because I know we are close to the first aid station. I arrive with the group at the aid station. After grabbing some food, we move off to the next section, which is mostly downhill on a gravel road to the next aid station. Ed passes me, obviously feeling good and eventually I catch up just before the aid station.
We start out of the second aid station and enjoy another road section downhill before turning to begin the first loop with a gradual uphill on the road. I fall in with Russ Evans and some other runners and we mix walking and running going up to the next turn. Ed Cacciapaglia disappears up ahead and I do not see him again until after the finish. Up ahead the sound of bagpipes is heard signifying the approaching aid station. We discuss whether it is Brian McNeill and if there will be haggis served. It turns out to be Bill Van Antwerp with Kim, who is playing the bagpipes.
The next section on the yellow trail crisscrosses a stream with slippery rocks. We proceed cautiously, mostly hiking up the trail. Eventually, we turn at the top along the ridge and I am with a group that includes Russ Evans, Greg and Linda as we make our way to the short spur climb to the Pitt Spring Overlook. We all arrive at the next aid station together, I refill my water, get a (special – mozzarella and prosciutto) sandwich and (home made) cookies from my daughter and start back down the road, eating along the way. We are a ways down the road and realize Greg is no longer with us. I still feel good but know that soon we will begin the climb up the dreaded purple trail. This trail starts with a gentle climb and seems to get steeper the further you go. It is only about 4 miles but seems to go forever with the hardest part being at the top. Russ tells us to look at our watches and anticipate getting to the top in 1 hour. As we proceed up the trail at a brisk pace, Russ gradually pulls away. Linda and I begin catching a few of the people that passed us on the last downhill as we keep a steady pace. Finally, the top is reached and I check my watch – almost exactly an hour! That was the best I have felt after that trail section and part of the reason can be attributed to the cloudy weather with relatively cool temperatures.
We head down a short steep hill to the road and back up the road to the last aid station. As we leave, we are joined by Adam and continue a bit of gentle climbing back to the Bird Knob overlook. After the run, we heard that later runners had an interesting experience with a goat that was on the top of Bird Knob. He had large horns and either begged food, pursued or actually butted various runners a bit later in the run. After the lookout, there is a lot of downhill to the finish and since we were feeling good, we kept up a fast pace. I crossed the finish line and looking at the time, realize that it is better than the last two years (6:38). Other Reston runners: Ed – 6:22, Russ – 6:27, Farouk – 7:10 Sometimes just doing a relaxed pace gives better results than when you try to push the pace.
Total miles for the week, about 81 in 5 days of running. That is significantly more that my usual 40-50 miles for a week. A lot of the mileage was at a slower pace on trails, which is not as hard on the legs as a fast pace on the roads. The weather was unusually cool and cloudy for July, which greatly contributed to the results.
I am going to do some serious resting next week!