Conquering Trails...

Bound and determined to continue to work on endurance length races, I quickly signed up for my first trail marathon. I learned about this marathon when I was running the Blue Ridge Marathon. The Mountain Junkies were there handing out fliers for their race. This race is about a month after the BRM so I new I would need to have a fast recovery and some strategic workout miles between now and this race. Oh...I forgot tell...I officially have a coach! Her name is Liza Howard and she is out of San Antonio Texas. She is very accomplished and is also a NOLS/WMI instructor so she gets the whole going out to the field thing. Check out her website: Lizahoward.com, she also blogs alot!

Although it's geared toward mountain biking, here is a quick video of some of the different trails in Carvin's Cove. Most of these trails we ran during the race.

Conquer the Cover Trail Marathon---Roanoke, VA

Time: 3:33:45

7th Place overall finish out of a little over 100. 2nd Place finish in my age group.

Here's a good look at the elevation profile for the race:

Words cannot describe how I feel about this race! This is the toughest marathon that I have ran and is the last marathon before I step my game up for another 100 miler. 26.4 miles of Virginia rollings, steep short uphills and downhills, lot's of creek crossing, technical single track trails, and a 3 mile uphill climb at mile 19 that ranges between 12-18% grade.

I arrive early and check-in and receive my race bib. It's still dark outside and everyone is walking around in headlamps. The parking lot is filled with SUV's with all kinds of action-sport stickers and I can hear runners chatting about their trail running experiences and I am starting to feel like an "outsider". As the sun begins to rise, my feeling of an outsider is confirmed by the overall look of these "mountain junkies". They are all wearing compression socks, they have water bottles, most of the guys have beards, and their shoes are all the latest and greatest of the trail world. I am sticking out like a sore thumb...my intimidation level is now through the roof.

We get a race briefing and line up at the starting line. I dare not get in these crazy peoples way and line up at the end of the marathon section and right before the 25k runners. The gun goes off and we begin running. No headphones for me, I'm training to self-reflect and find strength within versus the music...sucks! 

First section of the race is a fairly wide groomed trail and I'm cruising at a 7:45ish pace. I'm trying to find folks that I feel are going to keep a cadence and hopefully follow them. We hit the first technical trail two miles into the race and we are now working the uphill section. My legs are heavy and I feel like I have no power in them. I decided to stop and walk. At this point, mountain junkies are cruising past me as if they are on flat terrain. 

I'm demoralized...I have no clue what's going on. Instead of panicking, I decide to let my HR come down (way down) and just walk to the top of the hill. We top out and I see that a majority of the runners that were running are now walking the flat. I'm quick to start running and cruise past 25-30 runners. I suffer on technical sections for the next couple of miles and then all of the sudden I begin to get my trail legs. I start getting into a rhythm and begin picking runner's off. Im focused on pushing the uphill, quick gait transition and then a push on the downhill. I keep on the nutrition and hydration and I'm no longer worried about these runners. They are just like me and I am equal if not better. 

Every hill it's the same sequence. We hit mile 13 and now I am running alone. There are no other runners around and I'm enjoying the trails. Mile 15 comes around and I begin to see more runners up front and they look strong. I keep my head focused on the trail and begin to push a little harder. I'm only focused on perfecting my technique and my entire running system. If I hear my watch vibrate, it's time to sip and eat. I cruise through the water station and only ask for cold water to pour on my face. Each time I pour water over my head, I am awakened and I refocus on the task. Before I know it, I am at mile 19 and the start of the huge hill. I've caught a veteran runner of this race and he is using negative talk about the upcoming hill. In anticipation of this hill, I slow down and put some space between him and I. We both agree that we aren't going to stop running on this hill and take turns keeping cadence. I lead the first mile at a 9:15 pace, he takes the second mile at a 10:03, and I try to take the lead but my legs are getting heavy. I tell him that's all I got and he begins to pull away from me. Im still running but I'm running at 12:20 pace. I'm still catching runners and passing them with a strong motivation to keep the pace. 

I reach the top of the mountain and see the mile 21 post. In my mantra, I planned to run in COMFORT for miles 1-9, in CONFIDENCE for miles 10-21, and COMPETE after mile 21. I knew if I could get to mile 21 then I would finish and there would be no holding back. I hit the water station, poured super ice cold water on my head and chest and took a caffeinated GU shot. At this point I saw 3:01 on my watch. I thought for sure that I could beat my Rome marathon time. I had 2.5 miles of downhill on single track. I blitzed down the mountain and averaged a 7 minute mile. I caught the guy who left me on the hill and blitzed passed him. I hit the bottom running a 6:38 pace. I ran a small flat section on trail and then hit the main trail which is an old fire road. I ran passed the 25 mile sign and check the watch...3:24. Crap! I didn't get a PR but I can beat my Blue Ridge Marathon time on trail. I pick up the pace even harder for the 1.4 mile run to the finish. I am flying passed people at a 6:15 pace. I passed the 26 mile marker and made the turn for the finish line. I could hear people cheering but I couldn't see the finish line through the trees. The last .4 miles was a small old trail that was muddy with lots of little 4-5 foot bumps. That drained the legs pretty quickly. I tried to power through knowing I had .4 miles left. In a blink of an eye, I out of the trees and running the hundred yards toward the finish line. I cross the finish line with a time of 3:34:00 on the clock. I can't believe it...I'm finished and I feel like I could've kept running.

Can't officially claim that I'm a trail runner yet but this does help with the confidence. I'm very happy with my performance. My realistic goal was to complete this course with a time of 4:30. My secret goal (if I felt awesome) was to try and finish in 4:00. Boy was I surprised...

Oh yeah…I forgot to add that I also finished in time to sign up for the Marathon des Sables race in Morocco. I doubt I’ll get in but it’s worth a shot.

Some pics from the race: