In my training I've noticed that I need to keep things fresh by constantly challenging myself. Without a challenge every once in a while I typically get bored with my training because I don't see an "end in sight" and therefore don't push myself as hard as I know I can. I chose to sign up for this race because it was close, cheap, I've heard good things about the TARC, and because it would be a good test to see where I was with my ultrarunning career. There was a total of 40 racers, and half of them were going for 12 hours. I purposely signed up for the 6 instead of the 12 because I didn't want to have to do long runs all summer if I chose to deviate my training a little bit. By not doing the 12 hour I was able to add a lot more strength than I would've had I chose to do it. I'm happy with the decision I made there.
The race was at Noonhill Reservation in Medfield, MA. The race was simple. You had 6 hours to cover the ~6.4 mile (a little over 10k) loop as many times as you possibly could. To describe the course, the race director said at the beginning that "it was harder than Stone Cat, but nothing like the Fells or Wapack." If you run in Massachusetts that may make sense to you. Personally I found the course challenging enough to keep my mind going, which was a positive. There was probably 8 hills throughout the loop that I walked up every lap except for my final time where I was attempting to put the hammer down. There was also a nice view of Gillette Stadium from the top of the peak supposedly but I did not see it. The terrain was a lot of single and double track mixed in with a good amount of roots, rocks and hills. The course was really well marked throughout and I only had one minor error in navigating the course. Coming from a guy who can barely find things driving a car that's a pretty big compliment to whoever marked the course.
The first loop I did my strategy I've followed in previous races of going out really conservative. I followed two women for most of the course before passing them and several others towards the end of the loop. I don't remember my split for the first loop but I believe it was in the 65-70 minute range. Not too much went on in this loop besides some cramping I got early on in the race, which rarely happens to me. They didn't bother me enough to affect the running but it's a nod that my nutrition wasn't as good as it should've been in the days prior.
The 2nd and 3rd loops I really hauled ass, to put it plainly. After going out really light on the first loop and still hovering in the top 6 or 7 runners in the 6 hour race, I knew that I had a chance to do well in this race. I had no pain in these loops and they went by rather uneventfully. I was told after the race that when I passed the guy who eventually finished 5th on the 3rd loop that I had a phenomenal stride and that he felt embarrased how slow he was going compared to how quick I was moving. These loops were my highest point in the race for sure.
Headed into the 4th loop I was in 3rd place and I knew that I had a good lead on everyone behind me. The guy in first had already looped me so I knew moving up was going to be difficult. My goal at this point was to hang onto 3rd place for the rest of the race. I knew that if someone passed me at the end of the race I would be absolutely livid with myself, so I used that as motivation when my legs started to hurt and I wanted to walk easier sections. I told myself to just keep going until the next hill and then walk. On the fourth loop I walked the hills a bit more to ensure I wouldn't blow up completely on the last loop. I ended this loop feeling good and got into the aid station quickly, making it out in less than two and a half minutes, which was the fastest I got out of the aid station the entire race.
Entering the 5th loop, I knew I had to put the hammer down if I wanted to run the entire loop before the 6 hours expired. At this point I had 1:08 to get through the course. If I remember correctly, my slowest loop was loop four in 1:12 and my fastest was 1:07 on loop 2 or 3. I was pleased to see consistency on all the loops today. I doubted I could do it, but downed some Mountain Dew (love it during races, caffeine does wonders) and took off anyway. The way the race was structured for the end was that you had to check in with the aid station either at the start or halfway through the course where there was a water only station set up in order for those miles to count. Any extra miles would not count after that. I did well on the first half of loop 5, making it there with 36 minutes left to get to the finish. The RD asked me if I wanted to take the short cut back and call it a day but I told him I was going for it and took off with one goal in mind-- to get there in under 6 hours. I began to fall apart within the last 10-15 minutes of the race and was forced to walk more than I thought I would have to. I ended up only getting credit for about 45k of the race, but I finished 5 loops of the course (32 miles) in 6:06, which although not a 50k PR was really impressive for the lack of running I've been doing on top of the added upper body size I've obtained and for the harder course.
Nutrition-wise, I ate mostly oreos and GU chomps during the race. I never ate any GU's because they seem to give me stomach problems everytime I do. I would say I ate a lot less than I have in the other 2 races at the aid stations, mostly because I was more competitive today and wanted to get out of there quickly. I drank half GU brew and half water in my one handheld I was carrying, and then drank mountain dew and water at the aid station. I also took in 7-8 salt tablets which helped alleviate any cramping throughout.
All said and done, I finished in 3rd place in the 6 hour event. Although that counted for nothing technically it made me feel really good and made me think I may actually have a future with ultras. Since my 50 mile race in March I have averaged less than 6 miles per week, or less than 1 a day. My longest run for this race was about 12 miles and besides the 17 mile hike on the AT with Contois last week I did very little running this entire summer. I'm pretty sure that once I go back to school I'm going to re-structure my training to add more running into it, and if it sacrifices strength then that's OK. I really liked being competitive in a race for the first time, and I think with more running I will be able to do that in the future with more races. I have 2 races coming up in the next 3 months so I'm going to need to do a lot more running than I have been. I am actually proud to say that a few people at the end of the race didn't believe me when I told them I ran about once every week or two this summer. There is a chance I could try to run my first 100 mile race in about 2 months from now, and this race will likely be my longest run before I attempt it. It was nice to go out with a bang today and give it my all. Hopefully it inspires me to get a lot more running done for this future race.
I duct taped my feet after the first loop to prevent blisters and it worked like a charm. Sorry to say I am going to lose my right big toe nail because it's black and cracked everywhere, but other than that I'm not too beat up from the race. My feet are sore as usual but my quads and hamstrings aren't too bad and neither are my calves. It's nice to see that I can run 32 miles in one day and not be too beat up from it for sure.
The TARC did a hell of a job today, and I would recommend them to anyone who is looking to do races in the New England area. They are cheap, full of good people and they do well with the actual race portion (timing, marking the course, talking to runners, etc.)
Pictures and race results will follow when they are posted.
