Seven Hours of Hell...'s Hills

Race ready...or not.

Waking up at 4:30 am Saturday morning, to run on a course I'm not particularly fond of, in a race that I've never run well in, for a distance (50k) that I wasn't prepared or trained for...yea, this is gonna be a good day.  My wife and I decided to use Hell's Hills as a long, supported training run as part of our prep for our big September race.  On the face, it seemed like a sound idea and plan.  Our plan was to run with a steady, medium effort, which for us would be about a seven hour 50k.  However, as the race got approached, I felt more and more unprepared, and, more importantly, unwilling to put myself through the miles.  

Back to our 4:30 am wake up.  Having camped the past two years, we decided to upgrade to the luxurious Day's Inn of Bastrop.  Being only a 15 minute drive from the ranch, I figured a soft bed and real bathroom would be worth the expense.  The room was decent, not many amenities, but clean and climate controlled.  We got ourselves up and around, went through our various morning machinations, threw down some nutrition (coffee, banana's, Lara bars) and headed out.  Oh, and last minute weather check.  Experience from the previous two years had taught me that the race will start off nice and cool, then quickly turn into a burning inferno eager to consume the unprepared and under trained.  The temp when we left showed 52 degrees, with the high for our anticipated finish time reaching 72.  Well, I thought, maybe the weather won't be so bad and we might actually have a fun race.

Arrive at Rocky Hill Ranch, pay the usage fee, park, shed the extra clothes, join the porta-potty queue...only to learn after a five minute wait there was no toilet paper.  Whoops...now what?  Then I remembered the showers and bathrooms at the pavilion - jackpot, crisis averted!  We line up at the start, say hello and good morning to the familiar faces, then off we go into the wild dark yonder.  We had a very definitive race plan that we were determined to follow - run the flats and downhills, power walk any and all uphills/inclines.  We knew we would hit a short climb about a quarter mile into the race, and it took nearly every ounce of discipline I had to make myself walk the hill.  Who has to walk a quarter mile into a race?!  But, as we would do throughout the day, I reminded myself that this is not my race, this is a supported training run, accomplish what you came out here for.

About a mile in, we find ourselves at the head of a long conga line of runners, headlamps bobbing like fireflies.  We're maintaining a very slow, easy pace - about 15:00/mile - which, it appeared, was a very popular pace in the dark, early morning.  I recalled the beginning of the course having some fairly tight switchbacks, a bit of rocky stretches, before leveling out a bit into fairly runnable single track.  As the sun came up, we were able to pick up the pace a bit, and managed to stick to our plan of walking any/all inclines...which, when you force yourself to walk every...single...one...there are a lot.  A plethora.  A cornucopia, if you will.  What was particularly daunting, mentally, is that none of the inclines (with few exceptions) are intimidating as you approach them - it's short, more of a bump in the road, really, and easily runnable.  We just recited the mantra of "start slow, then taper off", and stuck to our plan.

We arrived at the first aid station in good shape, feeling good, satisfied with our effort level.  I knew the middle third of the loop was pretty runnable, with more bumps and swells, but (in my opinion) the easiest part of the course.  It was here that we caught up to two other gentlemen that were running with similar intent as ours and were maintaining about the same pace we wanted.  So, we fell in with them for a large portion of the middle third, and having new people to talk/listen to helped the miles slip by.  Before we knew it, we were at the Pines aid station.  Another quick pit stop to grab food, and off we went again.  My wife had run the 25k last year, and this was my third year in a row running Hell's Hills, and we both remembered the long, gradual inclines that were to come.  This is my least favorite part of the course - I constantly feel that we are much closed to the finish then we actually are.  I actually looked forward to hitting the Grind, because then I knew we were only about two miles from the start/finish.  I also knew the camping area was near the end, so I just took every step to make those landmarks closer.  Eventually, we came upon the camp site, and knew the end of our first loop was in sight.  We still felt good, had a solid (for us) pace going, and were right on schedule for a seven hour finish.  We hit the timing mat at 3:24, so we took advantage of the extra time to hit our cooler to refuel with Generation UCan (fantastic energy drink - it's slow release, so you don't feel a big buzz, but you also don't get a crash) and utilize the facilities once again.

Off on the second loop, which was basically more of the same as the first.  First third, slower and steady.  Hit the aid station, then off on the second third, with a lot more running and gaining time.  As we got closed to the third aid station, I could feel the heat starting to sink in, but after my experiences the past two years, it seemed a lot later than and not nearly as intense.  Regardless, we knew we had less than five miles (4.7, according to the aid station volunteers, so who am I to argue), and we were starting to smell the barn.  Our time at the Pines aid station was around 5:50, so we had 70 minutes to meet our goal of a seven hour finish.  It wasn't really a hard and fast goal, and it wasn't a goal either of us was willing to push excessively hard for - we had to plans to run again on Sunday, and didn't want to go all out for a "training" run.  We just kept up our steady pace, power walked as needed, and inched our way closer to the finish.  It was during this last third that my wife had an epiphany; due, I believe in part, to our catching and passing four or five fellow 50k runners - "as long you keep moving forward at a steady pace, you'll catch a lot of people!"  Soon, we hit the Grind again, and shortly after the camp site came into view.  Looking at our watches, we were going to just make our goal time, so we did our slow, steady jog to the finish.  We crossed the timing mat at 6:58:16, right where we wanted to be.  Even better, other than being sore from, you know, running 31 miles, our bodies were in good shape and we hadn't depleted ourselves too much.  And, running Hell's Hills when it's not ridiculously hot and humid is a lot more enjoyable and a much more pleasurable experience.

Wife and I done - ready for food and drink!

Finish rewards - love these medals!

Happiness is a dirty pair of trail shoes.

Training Summary 25 - 31 March

So last week the wife and I started officially training for our "A" race...tentatively planned for September 14 of this year.  I've been inconsistent (my nice way of saying slacking) on my running since completing my first 50 miler at Cactus Rose last October.  My highest monthly mileage since Cactus was 150 miles, and that was done in March (greatly assisted by running a 50k at Nueces March 2).  I ran six days last week, getting a bit over 53 miles done.  My coach also changed up my, and the wife's, track work...starting to focus more on longer speed intervals.  We do track work every Tuesday, and we both had 4 x 1 mile repeats - I was allowed 400 meter recovery, while my wife was given an 800 meter recovery.  Given it was my first time - ever - doing mile repeats, I had no idea what kind of pace to set or how hard to push each mile.  Our goal at track is to work on turnover and be consistent, and my biggest goal for the mile repeats was to at least keep them (relatively) the same, or at, best case, do each on faster than the last.  I didn't run the repeats on the track; we have a good road area to run, and running a mile on the road always feels shorter than running a mile on the track.  Before I started the repeats, I kept telling myself that you have four to complete, so don't be all stupid and use all your energy on the first one or two, manage the effort, and be consistent.  I went off on the first one and did 7:31, pretty good, I thought, and right about the right pace for me.  Started and finished the second repeat...7:31.  Pretty cool, I thought, but not really paying it any mind.  Third repeat...another 7:31.  Well, then...out pops my OCD, telling me you gotta run the last one in 7:31 or it's gonna keep you up all night.  So, even though I was starting to feel the first three, I just told myself one more mile, and set off...and, sure enough, another 7:31.  I was pretty satisfied with the workout, considering my lack of consistency, but when I think about where I was pre-Cactus Rose, I have a lot of work ahead of me.  Thursday is our tempo run day, and we both had 3 x 2 mile repeats, with the same goal of maintaining a steady pace throughout the work.  Having run this workout every other week last summer and fall, I felt very good about managing the work and getting it done.  I finished the workout, averaging about a 7:45 pace for each two mile set.  Again, satisfied with the steady pace I achieved, but still light years from where I was last year.  I had every intention of running Friday (it's easy/recovery day), but the previous four days of running had me worn out, so decided to take a rest day.  Saturday we did eight miles on trail at Government Canyon, which is a beautiful state natural area.  The trails run the gamut from runnable dirt to very technical, rocky terrain.  We didn't hit the extremely technical portions, but it was fairly challenging.  I felt we kept a nice, easy pace...was able to talk with our running partners for virtually the entire run.  However, I felt the toll on Sunday when attempting to do my long run at McAllister park.  My plan had me down for 16 miles, and I just didn't have the energy or juice to get it done.  I slogged out ten miles, and felt worn out when we finished.  I'm going to give myself a mulligan for that long run, but we can't afford to cut the long runs short if we want to reach our goals.  I think/believe we have time to prepare, as long as are patient and consistent.  Until next week...stay running, my friends!

About Me

I was born a poor black child...who turned into 40-ish, unfit, white male, quite unbeknownst to me.  I started running when I was 17, because that's when I joined the Army and they told me to.  I ran all through my adult life for the Army, again, because they told me to.  I rarely competed in races, didn't have any rhyme or reason to my running, and ran only because I had to and was supposed to.  Needless to say, it did not bring much joy or fun.  Then, in February of 2010, I was moved to San Antonio, TX, and for the first time in my Army career, did not have to run as part of an Army fitness program.  I was free to run (or not) completely of my own accord.  So, being the good American that I am, I chose not to run (with a few exceptions) for nearly a year.  That lasted until January of 2011, when upon dressing one morning, my uniform seemed to have shrunk.  However, just to make sure, I decided to check my weight...and, much to my horror, discovered I weighed in about 25 pounds heavier than I had ever been before in my life.  So, back to running it was.  I found two fantastic running clubs in San Antonio - Alamo Running Buddies (http://www.meetup.com/alamorunningbuddies/) and R-U-N (http://www.meetup.com/runner/).  I found great groups of runners, fun people to socialize with after runs, and more than a few "crazy ultra runners"...not suspecting that I would soon be indoctrinated into their ways and willingly drink the ultra Kool-Aid.  I ran my first race in March, 2011, at Camp Eagle, Texas, as part of the Nueces Trail Race.  I ran a 25k, which at that point was the furthest I'd ever run in my life.  However, running on the trail was a life-altering experience, the people were friendly and welcoming, and I had one of the best times I've ever had.  From there I progressed to 30k, then eventually took the plunge and completed my initial 50k at Wild Hare in November 2011.  I've since completed three additional 50k, four 60k, and one 50 miler.  The running community in San Antonio is close-knit and a joy to be around, and gave me the opportunity to meet my beautiful and wonderful wife (who has her own running blog here (http://runmizzsingbabe.blogspot.com).  I was also to find a great coach, Gary Brimmer, (http://www.garybrimmer.com), who has helped be able to run further and faster than I ever thought possible.