Dipsea – Cincinnati Style – East Fork Backpack Trail Run

First run in 1905, the Dipsea is the oldest trail race in America. The scenic 7.4 mile course from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach is considered to be one of the most beautiful courses in the world. (San Francisco) And its unique handicapping system has made winners of men and women of all ages.

The Dipsea inspired the 5.6 mile East Fork race, now 5 + years old, with the same type of handicapping start. Runners start between 9:00 (slower) and 9:30 (fastest) in small groups ever few minutes. Bibs on the front and back with your start position let runners know “who” you are as they pass you and visa versa. If perfectly handicapped and everybody healthy, it could have been a mass sprint to the finish line. (theoretical)

Love chatting with people.  Go figure.

 Waiting my turn to start. A steep 100 meter hill on pavement before leading into the woods. Wondering how hard to run it.

Sue came with me today and took these pictures. It's great to have my biggest supporter with me! Funny sport where the runners disappear into the woods for one to ? hours, while "spectators" hang out.

I started at 9:12 or a 18 minute head start. I was the 22^nd runner to start.
      -  I passed 17 of the 21 who started in front of me.

      -  16 of the 36 who started after me, passed me.

      -  Of the two fastest runners, with a full 30 minute handicap, one finished 4 spots in front of me, and one 4 spots behind me.

      -  The “handicapped” winner was a 13 year old girl, who started 6 minutes behind me and finished just over 5 minutes in front of me. She finished with the 13^th fastest actual time.

So what does all of this mean? Well, the slowest people as well as the fastest are not fast enough to win. And when you spread out 50 people over the course, close finishes are not really common. I really hoped to race some fast young man/woman to the finish as I always save something for the finish. Today I finished at a 4:30 pace, but all alone L.

My normal finishing face, scary

My First Ultra x 2/3

Rather than detail boring race stuff (pace, cramps, falls, bla..bla..bla) I want to share my first Ultra experience though pictures thanks to the club who sponsors the Dawg Gone Long Run 50 Mile Trail Race.

ok, everybody ready, have fun (ie, go)

Pretty morning (I'm under the sign)

Weather still pretty, just like the trails

3 is my lucky number!

yep, Huarache sandals, ran with Randy for 20+ miles

the winner, first ultra, won by 1 hour plus

number 33 really should be back by now

Well I did finally show up, and dropped after lap 2 of 3, or about 34 miles.   All things considered, a great experience, running, learning, and making new friends.

late rain, mud, and of course, a fall :)

French Park Deux

I had decided not to write about this race since it was relatively uneventful compared to most. No falls, a minute slower than last year (mud/rain), and no awards. I suppose when I reach 80, they may give me one for showing up, but I'll decline.

But this time the RD enlisted a professional photographer, who posted some cool pics so I decided to tell my PR story, with pictures.

These guys were there but did not watch the runners

Since I got the Suunto Ambit a month ago, I have been wearing the heart rate monitor, primarily to learn where I train. The side benefit is I can see where my rate is during a race and check my effort after the fact. Until this race, here is a summary:

long runs (bike trail) - 130-140

training trail runs (rolling hills)  - 130-150

various 5K and 10K trail races  - 150-160 ave and a max of 165 to 170 (my estimated max which I've seen just once)

So imagine my surprise when I saw an ave of 166 and 80% of the race over 170. The max was 175 at a few places including the finish stretch. Have I been slacking? Not today, I was all out on the last 100M uphill to the finish at a 4:52 pace and there was nothing left. 

East my Dust :)

 So screw my middle of the pack time, I set a new PR of 175! I don't know what to make of it though, is it good, bad, or doesn't matter a lick. I guess the line, "whatever does not kill you will make you stronger" will apply. So I can apparently tolerate more suffering and get faster, or apply for a Guinness record for the highest HR of a 60 year old not counting tachycardia.

Sunburst more Fun than Fast

The Sunburst is really a chance for Sue and I to visit Devon, Craig, Wes Val and Cydney as well as see Brian and Alexis who drove over from Michigan State. With Lexi and our pups, it’s a full crew and a lot of fun. The race is really secondary, and I had not trained at anything close to 8 min miles but still expected to beat last years 50:42 for the 10K. I have improved in every race I’ve done so far and with 2-3 times the training miles compared to last year, I hoped for under 50 min.  

Dev and I rocking the socks

I downloaded an app for my new Ambit2 which simply showed in seconds if I was ahead of 50 min or negative min if behind. I was “up” 25 sec or so for the first half but “went negative” in the last few miles. (53:08) I still can’t decide if my body or mind was the problem, but I thought I ran as hard as I could. I finished the last hundred yards at a 5:05 pace and still did not throw up on the Notre Dame field. I did however throw up the entire next night at home with the flu. No flu excuse though as I ate like a pig the morning after the race.

Not even a mid foot strike, poop

So back to my long trail runs at 11-13 pace in prep for my 50K this Fall. But damn it, I’ll be under 50 min next year.

Stone Steps Tune Up

I ran the 11-mile Mount Airy trail race last year with Brian. The trails were dry and fast and I ended up 61/63 overall. Even if you “give me” the time lost running down the wrong trail, I was still at 58/61. Not very impressive.

This year was different in two respects. My 2013 training miles are over three times that of 2012, and the course today was muddy. Still not sure if I’m happy with the results, but I ran the hardest my body would handle. My ave heart rate of 158 and max of 168, given my max is 170, tells me I did not leave anything on the trails. Quite the contrary, I took a few pounds of it with me.

Like last year, the “two lappers” started 15 minutes before those running one lap (5.5 miles). I was passed by the top four of the 5.5 mile race at maybe mile 4. The eventual winner flew by as if the mud was not even a factor. It made me think of the motocross days when the answer to a muddy track was holding the throttle wide open and pointing the bike in the general direction of where you wanted to go. (fyi, I did not do well on muddy tracks = no balls; but crashes were spectacular) But still, the first lap was fun and although muddy I averaged under a 12 min pace and ran a 10 min pace in some spots. The descents however were very difficult and were probably slower than the climbs. The second lap was a different story after over 150 people turned the trail into a greasy mess.

The trails, climbs, descents and bridges were now very slippery. I was frankly just happy to get around without getting hurt, as some of the descents were more like skiing than running. The last quarter mile is on road and grass and I was within sight of 5 runners. I ran as hard as I could but fell short by less than 20 seconds. So I finished 36/41 overall and the top of those over 55.

Overall a good test of fitness and I’ll need increased miles to be ready for Stone Steps 50K at Mount Airy in the fall. The Stone Steps race includes two killer climbs that are bypassed on race I did today. If the Stone Steps race has mud, I’m in for a long day.

No finish photo today, just this, whatever it is