Retiring an old friend

I had been looking for a way to sort of "memorialize" my old pair of Vibram Spyridons before I stash it away forever in that great big shoe closet in the sky, and just got an idea for it recently. The Spyridons has been with me through my very first Ultra at Hells Hills 50K, 6 additional Ultras through 2012 including both my 50 Milers, a couple smaller trail races, and countless training runs in between for an estimated 500 trail miles. I was very tempted to bring my old pair of Spyridons to Rocky Raccoon 100 for one last go around, but it's pretty much falling apart now, so I wore it's sexy new Orange/Olive Spyridon sibling instead.

There's a sense of primal connection I feel whenever I take my Vibrams on the trail, to be so close to the ground and actually feel the roughness and all the subtleties of the terrain you're running on provides a whole new sensory aspect to trail running that's simply missing with bulky and cushioned shoes. You can't exactly picture yourself as a lithe and agile jungle cat steathily making your way through the woods with a pair of Hokas on, but that's how I imagine myself a lot of the times on the trail with my Vibrams. With that said though...it's not always the best choice to bring them on very technical trails, I've been ceding more of those grounds to my Altras, but I feel like I'm running partially blind every time.

Time to retire an old friend, I've never felt more attached to a shoe in my life; I can't help but find myself sometimes staring at it and reminiscing about all the pain and glory it has carried me through on one grueling Ultra after another. Here's hoping my newest pair of Spyridons will see me through even more amazing and challenging Ultra races and many miles of great memories on the trail; its already off to a good start with the completion of Rocky Raccoon 100. A list of the races I've finished wearing my retired Spyridons:

2012 Run Like the Wind - 51 Miles
2012 Wild Hare 50 Mile
2012 Rocky Raccoon 50K
2012 Whispering Pines 50K
2012 Reveille Ranch 60K
2012 Cedar Ridge Trail Run 36K
2012 Pedernales Falls 60K
2012 Pandora BoX of RoX Half-Marathon Trail Run
2012 Hells Hills 50K

2013 Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Race Report

On the first weekend of February, a major annual sporting event was being held that I’ve been anxiously awaiting for all year, no not the Super Bowl, but what is considered by some the local “Super Bowl” for Texas trail runners, the 2013 Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Endurance Trail Run (also a 50M option).  This wasn’t supposed to be the year to challenge myself at the 100 mile distance; I had only started running Ultras since last April and laid out a rough road map at the beginning of last year to tackle various Marathons and Ultras, including half a dozen or so 50 milers, all in an effort to build a solid base of races under my legs as I work up the nerve to make a go of it at Rocky Raccoon 100 in 2014.  The faint optimistic side of me, however, wanted a shot at the 100 at Rocky Raccoon in 2013; with the race entries selling out in record time by July (it sold out a year earlier in December!), I had to register quickly once the floodgates were opened for 50 milers to sign up for the race.  With little time to hem and haw and spend agonizing months of talking myself in and out of running the hundred, and some encouragement from Ultra running friends (Ultra Runners are truly a terrible influence), I sat at my desk, ashen faced with dread staring at the register button for probably half an hour and finally signed up for the 100; the race sold out two weeks later.  I could have always drop down to the 50 miler later on I told myself, but something about hitting that final confirmation register button makes it so that there’s no turning back now; no matter how badly I wanted to drop to the 50 later on, I was committed to running the 100...nothing left to do now but train for the impossible.

As it turns out, signing up for the 100 was the best thing I did for my training, as it finally made me take training and approaching Ultras more seriously; sure I was already committed to Wild Hare 50 Mile in November by that point, but that distance didn’t quite scare me as much as a 100 Miler did.  Following mainly the 100 mile training program at the Ultra Ladies Trail Running website that emphasized back to back long runs on the weekends in order to condition your legs to run while fatigued in the later stages of an Ultra, I felt stronger than I ever had before and started knocking out Ultras every 2-4 weeks (along with PR’s) for several months; until I got a just a bit too sure of myself and took on a challenge that was perhaps, a bridge too far.  Just 3 weeks after my first 50 mile at Wild Hare, where I put in a pretty decent performance completing the run in about 11:18Hrs, I signed up for the Run Like the Wind 24 Hour timed run event held in December at Austin, Tx.  

I wasn’t anywhere near ready to run for 24 hours, especially so soon after Wild Hare, but with Rocky just two months away, I felt I badly needed the experience of just being on my feet for that long of a period.  My objective at Run Like the Wind was to work on some Run/Walk strategies, see how long I could last on my feet, and just enjoy myself out there with no specific goal to stress myself about.  While I found the timed format and short 1KM course to be monotonous, I generally had a great time at RLtW, you’ll probably never eat better at a running event, as the race director was cooking meals all day like grilled cheese sandwiches, spinach lasagna, quiche, other great food items, and a variety of delicious hot soup and gourmet coffee to keep you warm late into the night, I’ve never eaten so well at a race before!  Being stuck on such a short course for hours on end, you can really get to know other runners who are often eager to strike up long and interesting conversations to distract from the monotony of going around in circles over and over again.  The course wasn’t in the best of shape and had a lot of hard mulch that constantly beat under my feet while wearing my Vibram Spyridon trail shoes.  I was also not fully recovered from Wild Hare either, the last 6 miles were painfully slow, where I had to stop after every half mile for an extended break.  I reached my goal there of at least 50 miles (turned out I had an extra bonus mile later on), and dropped at just under 14 hours...my feet were so numb I couldn’t stand for an hour afterwards.  While I would do Run Like the Wind all over again if given the chance, I was effectively burnt out from running afterwards and spent the next two weeks barely getting out of bed for a run...with Rocky coming ever closer on the calendar, I started to worry.

After a couple low mileage weeks following Run Like the Wind, I did what I always do to stay motivated to train, I signed up for another Ultra, Bandera 50K in January, where I would plan to use it as my last long run before Rocky.  In the meantime, I seeked out any trail running group I could find because I had a lot of trouble motivating myself for those long tortuous training runs.  First up was with a pickup group at the Lake Georgetown trails, whom I promptly missed out on after arriving late, but happened to run into the third place finisher at Cactus Rose 50 Miler.  For most of the Marathon loop around the lake, I thought he was trying to get me killed by speeding through the ridiculously technical trails of Lake Georgetown and bombing the rocky downhills with absolute reckless abandon.  At any moment I was deathly afraid of busting my head open on the sharp cheese grater rocks that litters the course like the Lunar landscape, but it was exhilarating at the same time as I haven’t really tested my speed and gone all out in so long, while training for Ultras speedwork is almost an afterthought sometimes; managed to hang onto him for a good 21 miles anyway before I bonked hard...still managed a Marathon PR that day.  My longest mileage week for the month came right before Bandera 50K when I joined a small group for a 20 mile training run at Huntsville on Saturday and did an extra 18 mile the following Sunday (53 total miles for the week), and as I wrote in my race recap for Bandera, running it on exhausted non-tapered legs was part of the plan to get me ready for Rocky...I would question myself later at Rocky if that was a good idea or not, Bandera 50K under muddy conditions felt a lot tougher than the Wild Hare 50 Mile that I ran earlier.

That 3 week spurt of hard training helped to ease my mind a bit going into Rocky, but I was still way off on the 100 mile training schedule I was supposed to follow, not once did I hit the high volume 60-70+ mile weeks that was scheduled, and only broke 50 miles in a week once all December and January!  This sent my anxieties about running a 100 mile race into overdrive, and I proceeded to sandbag to everyone I knew and all over the Tejas Trails Facebook group.  I needed to publicly lower expectations about the race (such as abandoning delusions of a sub 24 finish) to take some of the pressure off myself, and soak up whatever last minute advice and encouragement I could receive; the Tejas Trails Facebook group truly is one of the best running communities you’ll find online, filled with passionate and knowledgeable runners from all walks of life.  I may have had to stumble into Rocky woefully under trained, but at least I would be rested and prepared.  I’ve learned a lot from all the previous Ultra’s I’ve ran in the past year, and would recommend anyone contemplating a 100 miler to spend at least a year racking up as much Ultras in the 50K to 50 Mile range as they can.  I came into Rocky with my legs well rested from a long 3 week taper, took the time to prepare my drop bag for anything I might possibly need, planned my nutrition and race strategies over the course of the day, and sprung for a Hotel room just to get an extra 2 hours of sleep (Huntsville is less than a 3 hour drive from where I live in Dallas); anything can happen in a long Ultra though, and I would be in for an incredibly long, painful, and difficult ordeal when disaster struck early into the race.

Learning from the race morning crush from Bandera where it took me over an hour just to park my car, pick up my race packet, and barely making it to starting line with 5 minutes to spare (no time to hit the porta johns, had to sneak into the woods for one last go); I picked up my packet the day before the race, attended a great trail briefing, and arrived early to Huntsville State Park the morning of the race.  It was nice to actually have some time before the race to stretch, calm some last minute jitters, and catch up with friends I only get to see at these races and this being one of the largest trail runs in Texas, it seemed like everyone I knew showed up for the race and plenty more people that I didn’t but recognized me online.  Races serve as a large social gathering more than anything, especially to Ultra Runners who probably spend the majority of their long training runs alone, I normally walk away with a half a dozen or more new friends after each event.  

So bright and clean at the start.

After more than a years worth of training and nearly 3 and half years since I first read “Born to Run” and started dreaming of running a 100 miler someday, the countdown to the 6am start time completed, and off I went with 339 other runners down a single track trail in the darkness to start the race.  It was an awe-inspiring sight to see a “Trail of Fireflies” as a never-ending stream of bobbing headlamps snaked down a winding trail as I looked behind me.  The first loop went by before I knew it, I approached Rocky with a run 8 minutes and walk 3 minutes interval strategy, but the first 3 miles to the first Aid station at the Nature Center went by in a blur and would have been difficult to stop anyway with hundreds of other runners directly behind me on a single track trail.  I decided to start my intervals after the Nature Center, but kept running into old friends and complete strangers to strike up conversations with and spent most of the first loop chatting.  Finished the first of five 20 mile loops in 4:14:50 Hrs, a little bit faster than I would have wanted, was targeting an easy 14 minute pace for my first loop; next time I’ll try starting near the back of the pack to make sure I don’t go out so fast.

It was now noon, with little cloud cover, the temperatures was slowly starting to rise from the mid 40s into the mid 70s with lots of humidity; I grabbed my handheld water bottle, in addition to the 20 oz fuel belt I was already wearing, and headed off to start the second loop...I didn’t get very far before an old nemesis came back to haunt me for the entire race.  If you’ve read my previous race reports, I’ve talked a lot about coming back from a lengthy injury to my left knee that held me back to limited miles for half of 2011; it’s the main source of anxiety that I have about running and why I’m hesitant to really push myself towards new challenges before I feel ready for them, and also why I chose Wild Hare to be my first 50 miler, because I would have most of 2012 to ease into my training for it.  My knee problem is the constant boogeyman that I live with, and every-time there’s the slightest bit of pain coming from my left knee, I panic and shut down my running in fear of aggravating it further.  I was feeling great starting off loop 2, and then it hit me at around mile 23, the Iliotibial band over my left knee crapped out on me, so soon into Rocky, I was mortified.  I haven’t had ITB issues for over half a year now, I’ve done both my 50 milers and Bandera 50K without a hint of pain, the Running Gods were cruel to torment me on my Goal race!  Was Bandera the straw that broke the camels back when it came to my aggravating my ITB, with it’s tough climbs and muddy conditions, or was I just worn out completely after a year of hard racing with 8 Trail Ultras and another 2 Trail Marathons?  I would have more time to contemplate that question later, it was much too early to quit now on my Goal race (any other race, and I might have dropped).  Afterwards, I couldn’t run more than 5 minutes before my knees would badly ache and I would have to take a 2-3 minute walking break to settle my knee pain back down.  I was already doing a Run/Walk interval strategy anyway, I just had to dial back my running a few minutes and walk a bit more, and once I made it past the second loop, I can grab my Cho-Pat Dual Action Knee Strap for loop 3 and hope for the best.  

I reached the DamNation aid station 6 miles into the loop and stopped for a few minutes to massage my knee, something I will be doing at every Aid station and any log I could sit on from now on, before heading out to start the DamNation loop.  The DamNation loop is a 6 mile out-n-back, beginning and ending at the aid-station, I could have sworn the loop didn’t take half as long during the first go around.  In addition to my Run/Walk strategy, I planned to walk any hill and incline I saw, at least for the first 3 loops, the goal was to start loop 4 with my legs still feeling fresh.  I knew that if I pushed myself too hard in the first 3 loops and my legs felt trashed going into the fourth loop, I may have not finished the race.  I read many people DNF at Rocky after the 3rd loop because they pushed themselves too hard at the beginning, and the thought of 40 more miles was too daunting to contemplate; at Rocky the race really begins at loop 4, the first 60 miles is just a training run.  The DamNation loop starts off with a lot of long gradual inclines, and for the sake of my knee, I started power-walking anything above 0 degree grade.  The temperature was now in the mid 70s, and I started taking in an S-Cap and three Endurolytes every hour (works like magic for me, I cramp everytime I try to get away with less in similar temperatures) to stave off cramps, ran shirtless and used my second water bottle to periodically dump ice-cold water over my head.  I don’t like to drink much in a race, as it causes stomach issues for me, so the second water bottle to cool myself down was crucial, and especially needed as I drained all my water bottles upon finishing the DamNation loop...it will only seemingly get longer and longer each time I start it again.  

I finished the second loop in 5:04:21 Hrs, not bad timing for being hobbled with a bum knee; before heading off for the 3rd loop, I grabbed my Cho-pat knee strap from my drop bag along with a headlamp for when it gets dark again at the end of the loop.  The knee strap was a huge relief for me, the last time my ITB flared up this bad was during the middle of Pedernales Falls 60K back in June of last year, it allowed me to finish the race, so while I was a little more optimistic with my chances of finishing the race with the knee strap, I still had 60 more miles to go.  The knee strap didn’t quite alleviate the pain, however, but I was able to run a lot longer before I had to stop for walking breaks (around 9 minute run for ever 3 minute walk); I still chose to take things conservatively with my interval strategy though and kept things easy going, I would need my knee intact for the last two loops.  The DamNation loop this time took nearly 1 and half hours to complete, but ran into a couple friends that made the time fly by quicker, including an older 60-something year old guy who I met earlier during the first 3 miles of the race, Bobby K, who was on his 14th go around at Rocky 100!  The race got dark by this time and he was caught without a headlamp, so I ran with him till we made it back to DamNation; it was amazing just listening to the guy, he’s lived a pretty incredible life, one of things I enjoy most about running Ultras is the people you meet, and I think everyone doing these tough races have a story to tell, because we all have to be a little bit peculiar to want to run a 100 miles in the first place.  

I would run into Bobby K again later, after a brief stop at DamNation for some wonderful hot Vegan Barley soup they were serving at night, and after so many gels, I felt re-energized to have something hot in my stomach (especially when the temperature started dropping); off I went to a 3 and half mile trek to the next aid station, called Park Road, on one of the most boring parts of the trail, it’s pretty much a flat jeep road but I met a few more people along the way to keep it interesting.  Ran into the only other person there wearing Vibram Spyridons besides me that I saw, met her briefly on the second loop, but with this being her first 50 miler, the roots must have gotten a bit much out of her so she had to switch shoes; I was doing great so far in avoiding the roots, but they will ding me hard a few times later on.  After she couldn’t keep up anymore, I ran a mile or so with my friend David J, who was going for the Tejas 300 (a Granite in the shape of Texas for completing Cactus Rose 100 Mile, Bandera 100K, and Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile, sequentially in that order), unfortunately he was having a rough go of it, and I found out he had to drop later on; ran with him for about a mile before he fell behind.  After having ran into such an accomplished Ultra runner in Bobby, I met an equally accomplished older lady who was power-walking her way to a 50 Mile finish.  Not sure how the conversation got started, but it turns she was on her 1,300th mile finish of Rocky (combined 100 and 50 Mile races); she was telling me about her knee injuries and how it kept her out of running for a few years, this gave me the opportunity to ask her about my own knee problems.  I was growing very worried at this point that I may be doing permanent damage to my knees, because it wasn’t getting any better, but she assured me that as long as I stuck to my short intervals and don’t push the knee too hard, I wasn’t going to permanently damage it.  She also showed me a few stretching exercises to loosen up the ITB that would help immensely later on, feeling relieved after all the advice I received from her, I thanked her and ran on ahead to complete the third loop in 5:34:44 Hrs.

With it being night-time for several hours now, the roots were getting harder and harder to avoid with just one headlamp, so I grabbed my second headlamp from my drop-bag (I wrap the band around my arm and palm the headlamp, very comfortable to hold this way and easy to direct the light with my hands), also my Brooks Essential Run Jacket for the cold (temperatures would drop to the mid 40s again), and before I left...re-lubed up on Vaseline; mentioning this purely as PSA for the new trail runners out there contemplating a 100 miler or even a 50 Mile, Vaseline or baby rash cream like Desitin will be needed periodically to apply “down there where the sun doesn’t shine” or you’ll experience VERY uncomfortable chafing 8 hours or so into your run.  Shortly after leaving for the fourth loop I ran into another “legend” of the Ultra-running world, Parvaneh Moayedi, an older lady I met during Pedernales Falls 60K who goes around completing Marathons and Ultras practically every week (260 something lifetime total, I think), even when she broke her arm!  Got the chance to ask her some advice about dealing with ITB pain, and most importantly got reassurance that taking pain killers like Advil or Tylenol would be okay during an Ultra, as long as I continued to take it easy and stay well hydrated.  Pain killers is something I try to avoid as much as possible, as I prefer to “listen to my body” and what it’s telling me; I fear masking the pain would cause me to do too much damage, but the pain in my left knee was slowly ratcheting up, I would be begging for pain killers later on.

Parvaneh was falling behind, so I thanked her and ran ahead, not long after I ran into Bobby K again and we immediately struck up conversation.  He was telling me about his past life in the service as a Paratrooper, living 7,000ft up in the mountains of Arizona in his current home, and his adventures of running in the rugged trails and facing dangerous wildlife in his many jaunts through the forest.  He’s had more near death experiences than he could count (including one that almost paralyzed him in a parachuting accident), and lives life to the fullest as a result, I couldn’t help but think I wanted to grow up to be exactly like him when I’m his age.  We made it to the Nature Center aid station in no time, I bid Bobby farewell and ran ahead, I wouldn’t see him again till he blew past me on the fifth loop.  The short 3 mile trip between the Nature Center aid station and DamNation is one of the rootier sections of the trail, this is where two powerful light sources come in handy, a headlamp to see further in the distances, and a handheld one to direct where you’re stepping on the ground.  I was being extremely careful with the roots, but after 60 miles, exhaustion sets in making it hard to pick up your feet, I stubbed my toes particularly hard, and at that point in the race, the pain seemed to magnified triple fold...it wouldn’t be my last time.  Vibrams Spyridons does have decent toe bumper protection, but no where near the protection of something like the Altra Lone Peaks that I had as my back-up shoe, but I’m stubborn when it comes to Vibrams, and was determined to finish the entire race in them.

By the time I made it to DamNation, the pain in my left knee was getting more intense, I rested there for about 10 minutes to massage and stretch my ITB (not to mention more soup), and would have stayed longer, but DamNation was starting to look like a M.A.S.H camp at this point with weary runners huddled under blankets not wanting to leave.  I saw an Aid Station volunteer there talking to a runner who seemed to be in state of shell-shock, it was painful just to witness, I asked for some Aleve, pounded down a can of V8 (never tasted so good!), and got out of there in a hurry.  The painkillers kicked in about half an hour into the fourth DamNation loop, and I was able to move in a decent pace this time.  I started running into less and less runners by this point, with the 50 milers already done and me being fairly in the back of the pack for 100 milers, along with no Pacers to keep me company, I prepared for a lonely march.  Thankfully I ran into couple people along the way, including Juan who seemed to be having a lot of trouble when I met him, this was both of our’s first 100 miler.  We talked for a bit about why exactly are we in the middle of a 100 mile run, the various pain and ailments we're both struggling through, and upcoming future races; where he’s doing the Caballo Blanco Copper Canyon 50 Mile Ultra next month, a long time dream of his and mine.  After a while of talking, I had to keep moving on, and we parted ways; was relieved to see him finish at the end, and later found out in his own race report that I was big help in motivating him to finish the race.  Everyone may be in there own races, but in a long Ultra, in a way, we’re all in this together; it’s always nice to receive a bit of encouragement from other runners late into a race, even if it is just a short “Keep it up” or “Finish Strong” while they pass you up.  

After finishing up the DamNation loop, the long Jeep road to the Park Road Aid station seemed to stretch on forever, and I ran it completely alone without another headlamp in sight.  I remember joking earlier to a runner who was in the 50 Miler that I was so looking forward to all the hallucinations and freaking out that can occur during 100 milers so late into the race that I’ve read about in “Born to Run”.  While I didn’t quite experience much of that during my run at Rocky, this was one of the few moments that I started freaking out.  The Jeep road seemed endlessly long, I kept looking around swearing a turn would come up at any moment, only to be disheartened to see a reflective marker far off into the distances. A few times, I must have hallucinated and jumped aside thinking a tall and dark monster was jumping at me, but it just turned out to be trees...even though I was in pain, I started running faster just to get through this section.  I was relieved to finally make it to the Park Road AS, rested my knees a bit, had some Ramen soup, and gorged myself on some amazing Nutella Coffee squares there.  With the brief rest and all that sugar and caffeine, I was back to my senses and headed off to finish the loop.  The rest of the trip to finish up loop four was pretty uneventful, near the end of the loop though, my ITB pain started becoming excruciatingly bad...I hobbled my way to finish line in almost an hour greater time than my last one, at 6:25:23 Hrs.

It was now around 3:15 am on Sunday morning, and I’ve been running for 21:15 hrs, with most of it on a bum knee that was now screaming bloody murder at me.  I asked the AS volunteers there for some painkillers, he said he didn’t have any, and that’s when I started shamelessly pleading for some because my ITB was killing me.  Someone close by heard me, and gave me some Tylenol, thanking him, I sat down for around 10 minutes to massage and stretch my ITB, along with the rest of my legs that were beginning to all tighten up on me.  I had a cold Vege Pizza at the aid station, and before leaving for my final loop, I proclaimed out loud “Death March to Finish!” to some cheers and slowly started the fifth and final loop...in dreadful pain.  The first 3 miles to the Nature Center AS I passed a ton of people on their way to the finish area, congratulating those finishing up their races and wishing luck to those who had one more loop to go; it was a re-energizing moment to see the happy faces on the finishers, and running into some friends I hadn’t seen in awhile finishing up their fourth loops.  

I was now in Aid Station to Aid Station survival mode, I made it to the Nature Center AS in surprisingly good pace, running past all those people helped me forget about my pain a little.  I got stuffed with warm mash potatoes before leaving for DamNation, this time the 3 mile trip would be tortuously slow.  My calves started seizing up, and it became painful even to run downhill now, with this being one of the more rootier sections, somehow I could swear the roots have doubled in number AND in size, I stubbed my toes a few times more, the pain would shoot through my body like lightning.  I limped into DamNation, sat down and never wanted to get up again.  When I got there, there was this girl passed out in the chair for about half an hour, the volunteers managed to coax her out of the aid station, but she came right back like a lost puppy and went back to sleep, passing out almost immediately.  Freaked out by the sight, just like the last time at DamNation of the shell-shocked runner, I got my soup, pounded down another V8, and left for my final DamNation loop...I didn’t get more than 15 feet before I almost felt like crying from all the pain, and wondering how much more my ITB could take before it snaps like a twig from under me; yes, the thought of race organizers finding me lying crumpled on the side of the trail entered my head if I continued on at that point.  

I sat down on a log beside the trail for a moment to gather myself, I never felt more like quitting than at that point, the 6 mile DamNation loop never seemed more daunting, and after that I would still have 8 more miles to go!  I remember discussing with a friend over a year ago who was just starting out Ultras, that you’re not proving anything to anyone by running a 100 mile race, and that’s true; most people you know thinks you’re crazy for attempting any Ultra distance event in the first place, much less a 100 mile race!  I had something to prove to myself though, before I started running Marathons and Ultras my life felt pretty damn stagnant, working at the same boring office job day in and day out wondering what to make of it all.  I was suffocating with the content I had with my life at that point and I started running again after a long hiatus to deal with the stress; that eventually led me to the book “Born to Run”, the world of running, trails, and Ultras and the challenge they present has called to me ever since.  I was running a 100 mile race that day to prove to myself that no matter how long and perilous the challenge may be, that I would still be able to find someway to draw on some deep hidden well inside of myself, to find the will to keep moving forward, and finish what I’ve started.  I got up, fished out my iPod, played the "Rocky Balboa: The Best of Rocky" soundtrack album, and got moving.

As cliche and corny as it may seem, the Rocky Balboa soundtrack was deeply motivating for me, especially when Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” song came on; I sang along, embarrassingly so, forgetting a lot of the pain I was in, the lyrics never seemed more fitting to me than at that very moment in my life.  With lyrics like these:  

“Went the distance now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive
So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive”

And:

“Risin' up straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not gonna stop
Just a man and his will to survive“

It’s as if the song was made for Ultra Runners to pick themselves up from the moment of utter despair and keep moving forward, no matter what.  I resolved to finish the race after that song, it won’t be getting any easier though, it would take me over 2 hours to cover the final 6 mile DamNation loop.  I eventually ran into two ladies about half an hour into the loop, one was pacing another lady who was walking at a 45 degree angle the entire time, I wasn’t the only one suffering out there.  I asked them if they had any painkillers, the Pacer gave me some Advil, and proceeded to talk non-stop for probably 15 minutes or so.  The other lady didn’t say a word, it must have been like that for awhile for these two, so the first person the Pacer had a chance to talk to, she wasn’t going to stop.  They were going at pretty good walking pace, so I didn’t mind too much, and it helped take my mind off the pain a bit.  Once the extra painkillers started kicking in, and I was finally able to get in a word, I bid them good luck and started running again.  

It was well past 6am by this point, I had been up on my feet running for a full day now, and the Sun was finally coming up again.  After spending 12 hours straight in the cold dark night running, the sunlight was rejuvenating and at the same time, highly disorienting.   As I said earlier, it would take me over 2 hours to finish this loop, going at effectively a 20+ min/mile pace, the DamNation loop was dragging on forever.  With me being disoriented from the bright sunlight, I started panicking and wondering if I was lost, all the trees suddenly seemed similar to what I vaguely remember that was there at the beginning of the race.  I had my GPS watch on me this time to map the course for Rocky, I had been using my interval watch for the rest of the race, so I knew how painfully slow I was moving and how much more miles I had to go; I took solace in the numbers, it was the only thing I had to go by.

For all the times I stubbed my toes hard on the roots at Rocky, I had never once fell down, until now.  I was Zombie running, exhausted and hungry, the loop had gone on for too long and I had nothing to eat; I was just mindlessly moving my body forward hoping to make it back to the DamNation aid station soon, that’s when I promptly tripped on a root and collasped onto the ground.  It wasn’t a hard fall or anything, but I just didn’t want to get up, the ground underneath felt so invitingly soft to lie on, and there I laid for maybe a good 2-3 minutes.  The brief rest was exactly what I needed to wake myself up and finish up this damn loop (pun intended)!  After another mile, I finally ran into other runners and someone I recognized, the lady who had helped me at Wild Hare so many months back.  It was really great to see her again, she was out pacing a friend, and we immediately broke out in conversation for the rest of the way back to DamNation.

I hated having to watch her go, but I needed to rest my knee at DamNation for awhile, and I was so hungry I ate everything in sight, luckily they still had more of their wonderful soup left.  I now had less than 8 miles to go, and with 4 hours left, I actually wondered out loud if I could actually make the cut-off...I was moving that dreadfully slow.  On the way to the Park Road AS, I eventually ran into two other runners who had been death marching their entire last loop, I joined them in the march on that long jeep road.  We got to talking, one upping each other on how much more pain the other was in, and when one of them mentioned he took some Hydrocodone he found in a bag on the side of the trail out of desperation from walking on a swollen ankle for most of the loop...he won that conversation.  

The trip to the Park Road AS didn’t seem too long that time thanks to them, they marched off on ahead, while I had to rest my knee again for awhile.  I got a surprise when my friend Ben Martinez finally caught up to me, I hadn’t seen him since the first loop, he was also going for the Tejas 300 award, so I was happy that he was finally near the end of that grueling challenge.  I joked earlier with him that I may jack him for his Hoka One One’s late into the race, with my feet pretty painful by now in Vibrams, there was maybe a hint of temptation there...but he left soon after arriving.  I fattened up on a some delicious breakfast burritos, ramen soup, and some more of those addictive Nutella Coffee squares and headed off for the final 4.4 miles to the finish.

Inexplicably, I started running again...well shuffling at a decent 16-17 minute pace (it was a decent pace after 95 miles...) most of the way.  Maybe walking for most of the way with the two other guys to the Park Road AS rested my knees, it felt great to be able to do some form of running again, even though my calves were stiff as a rock by this point, and I was developing a lot of pain on my shins.  I threw out finishing sub-24 hours weeks ago as I said earlier in the report, but finishing under 25 or 26 hours seemed very possible, but after my ITB got aggravated so early into the race, I dialed back my expectations to under 28 hours...and finally just to make it under the cutoff of 30 hours when the pain was at it’s worst.  Now that my knees were finally feeling halfway decent again, and after such a long and painful day, I didn’t just want to merely make the cutoff, I wanted a small victory I could be proud of for putting myself through so much torture.  A sub 29 hour finish now seemed possible, maybe even a finish under 28 and half hours if I really pushed myself, with a new goal in mind, I was now running with a bit more purpose under my legs.  

On my way to finish line I passed a handful of what you could accurately describe as the “Walking Wounded”, including a lady who was waddling like a Penguin not being able to bend her legs anymore, she almost took my head off when I informed her she had 2 and half miles to go.  I also passed the two guys I was death marching with earlier just a quarter mile to the finish, they too must’ve had found some life left in their legs.  I was now starting to hear the cheers and loud noises from the crowd, which set me to full on running at a 9 minute pace all the way to finish line, completing my first 100 mile run in 28:32 Hrs.  

Across the finish line

I have never felt more relieved and elated at the same when I crossed the finishing mat for the final time in front of a small, but boisterous crowd.  I received some high-fives and hugs from friends waiting for me at the end before the Race Director handed me the Finisher’s Buckle to signify that the 100 mile journey was officially over, I told him that the buckle was well earned, and got a hug out of him as we took pictures together.  I couldn’t stop smiling as I stayed at the finishing area with friends, cheering on till the very last runners completed their own journeys; it was a very inspiring sight to see all the joy and relief as they all crossed the finish line into the arms of their family and friends.

My finish at Rocky Raccoon 100 has been a long and arduous road that has been over a year in the making that has repeatedly tested my resolve to keep moving forward to it’s limits.  I ran when I was hurt, I ran when I was tired, I ran in the freezing cold, I ran in the pouring rain, I ran after making 2 hours of excuses of not wanting to run, I got up and ran at 4am in the morning many times, I made excuses to get out of countless family gatherings to run, and I ran in many hours of solitude, all to train for one punishing Ultra after another with the underlying goal of crossing that final finishing line at Rocky Raccoon 100.  I can still hardly believe I finally made it, completing a goal that seemed like an unobtainable dream to me 3 and half years ago after reading “Born to Run”.

So I’ve finally obtained that goal I’ve been chasing for so long...now what?  More 100s of course!  Rocky was just the beginning, I want to see just have far these legs can carry me.  I have my sights on Cactus Rose 100, the toughest race there is in Texas, with a date all the way in October, it seems very doable, especially after just completing Rocky.  In the meantime, I’ll be focusing on recovering for a few more weeks, and aiming at much, much shorter races, like a 5K.  I’ve ran many Ultras, but I’ve never actually ran an official 5K or 10K before, I want to focus on the small stuff for awhile and build up my base speed.  I’m not content on just finishing these long Ultras afterall, I do want to start placing higher up in the results sheet as well, maybe even a Sub 24 hour finish at Rocky Raccoon in 2014!

Posing with my Buckle and one of the greatest RD's there is.

2013 Bandera 50K Race Recap

Ultra-Turtle...mostly how I felt like for much of the race during Bandera 50K. This was the toughest race I've ever been apart of, the course itself under good conditions would have been relentlessly challenging in it's own right, with tortuous hill climbs that seemingly never ends, and the subsequent downhill rocky descents that tests your concentration, agility, footwork, and quad strength to it's limits in order to bring you down safely in one piece. Now combine that with the muddy conditions from the rains the night before, dangerously slick rocks, the warm temperatures (mid 70s in January, really?!) and harsh humidity, and you'll have one insane race that leave you frequently wondering why exactly are you trudging up a rocky hill with a pound of mud caked onto the bottom of your shoe in the first place...and, most importantly, why you wouldn't rather be anywhere else at the moment; welcome to the crazy world of Ultra-Running.

I came into Bandera 50K strictly as a training run for Rocky Raccoon 100, running 50+ miles the previous week, taking on Bandera with exhausted legs was part of the plan in order to get me ready for the big dance in 3 weeks, and exhausted was pretty much how I felt for most of the race. The race begins three steep hill climbs during the first 7 miles that will set your quads on fire and leave you gasping for air, followed by yet more gradual hill climbs till you hit the 13 mile mark where the course flattens out for the next 10 miles; don't be fooled into complacency though, the worst hill climbs are saved at the end as a nice "F'You" from Bandera. I finished the first 23 miles in under 5 and half hours, for a training run under such nasty conditions, I was content with how I was doing so far, the last 8 miles would be my undoing however.

By this time, the temperature was in the mid 70s and with practically 100% humidity, I was sweating profusely. My left calf also started to cramp up that no amount of Endorolytes seemed to help, and my stomach became mildly unsettling for the rest of the race making it hard to take down food (it may have been the Redbull I drank, never taken it before during a race). These conditions combined with the exhaustion of already covering 23 tough miles, made for a grueling 8 miles to the finish. At this point, I no longer wanted to push myself so hard, and decided to take it easy and enjoy the magnificent views (the early morning fog had finally cleared up) on the top of the hills overlooking the Hill Country State Natural Area Park where Bandera was held. The easier pace also gave me time to enjoy some extended conversation with new friends I met along the way, something I always look forward to in these trail runs, suffering together on an Ultra trail run is a nice conversation starter. It would take me well over 2 hours to finish the last 8 miles; it starts with 2 moderately steep hills, followed by the next 2 and half miles of gradual inclines that culminates in an abrupt 100 foot sheer climb up the final hill of the course at the 29th mile mark. I sat on top of that hill for 5 minutes to catch my breath, taking in the amazing view it had to offer (I swear I will bring a camera next time I run Bandera!) and having a brief chat with a couple other guys there before moving on to put an end to quite a memorable experience, finishing in 7:45-ish hours.

If there's one lesson I need to take away from this grueling race, it's that I need to put extra effort on my hill training this year; I can make excuses of the terrible conditions during Bandera, and choosing not to taper for the race, but quite simply, I'm not prepared for the type of steep hill climbs I encountered at Bandera and I never was last year in all the ultras I ran either. 2012 was all about putting in high volume mileage under my legs (over 1,700 miles for the year, first time going over a 1,000 miles in a year) and reaching for new distance goals; I chose Wild Hare for my first 50 mile specifically for the paltry 2,000 feet gain over the entire course...I think Bandera had more elevation gain for it's first 13 Miles! If I'm ever going to be a better trail runner, and no longer think of running all the tough Ultras with tens of thousands of feet worth of climbing that I read about as just a delusional dream; 2013 will have to be the year I devote to no excuses, quads melting hill workouts as a regular part of my training schedule. I've came this far in my brief foray into the world of trail ultras, time to push things to a whole new level in 2013!

2012, a Wild Ride

2012 has been quite a year, far exceeding my initial lofty (at the time) ambitions when it’s comes to pursuing running more seriously.  After the 2010 Dallas White Rock Marathon, I spent nearly half of 2011 injured with a knee problem that kept me to limited miles, and spent the second half struggling to make it back to Marathon form.  For 2011 I completed only one half Marathon and a 10 mile trail race at Isle du Bois later in the year, so going from that to completing 7 Trail Ultras and a Trail Marathon in 2012 is quite mind-boggling.  I can still hardly believe I ran so much last year, over 1,730 miles total for the year, probably more running than my entire life put together in previous years.

I remember thinking to myself after reading “Born to Run” all those years ago, that there was no way I could ever run Ultras, and after such a lengthy injury following my first marathon, I doubted even more if my body could withstand such distances.  Thankfully, I recovered and became a stronger and smarter runner because of it.  I set a goal at the beginning of 2012 to eventually complete a 50 miler by the end of the year...ended up completing two 50 milers instead.  It hasn’t always been easy, the entire year has felt like a roller coaster of ups and downs; with the high's completing an Ultra, and with the low's of recovering from them, dealing with nagging pain, fearing my knee injuries would return, and struggling with balancing rest (burnout was a huge problem at times) with the need to constantly ramp up my mileage to meet my next Ultra feat. 

With each punishing Ultra completed though, my confidence grew with them, not just in my running ability, but in myself as well.  Ultra-running has done a lot in improving my outlook on life; completing such grueling and difficult ordeals that Ultra-running presents is something I really needed to experience, in an otherwise stagnant and suffocating life of boring work and routines; the comfort zone is your enemy.  2012 has been a wild ride, met lots of new friends and great and inspiring people along the way, and took on increasingly insurmountable odds...always finding a way to make it to the end, and in the process discovering a little bit more about myself that I never knew was there.  Here’s to 2013 and whatever new challenges await; first up is Bandera 50K, leading to what has really terrified me all year, Rocky Raccoon 100...can hardly wait.

2012 Whispering Pines 50K Race Report

I spent the hot Summer months throwing my body, feet first, against technical and punishing Ultras, stumbling around in the darkness of the Capt’n Karl’s night-time Trail racing series, and beating my feet and stubbing my toes all along the way in Vibram Five-Finger Spyridon Trail shoes; I’m lucky I survived those tough courses with all my toes intact.  Trail running has not always been the bucolic jaunts through picturesque forest and nature that I imagined before getting into it.  Surely, there’s been moments of beautiful scenery in all of the Trail races I’ve taken part in, but most of the time I’m looking downward to keep myself from stepping on all the rocks and dodging root snakes to notice it; or in the case of the Capt’n Karl events, the races are held at night. Of course, I’m not running Ultras primarily for the scenery, the challenge of taking on tough courses is part of the appeal; keeping balance while flying downhill on rough terrain, trashing your quads on steep uphill climbs, and praying you have enough in the tank to make it to the end of an Ultra is a challenge I revel in.  Whispering Pines 50K held at Tyler State Park in Texas, was the change of pace I was looking for in an Ultra when compared to my previous ones, with easy on your feet trails to run on, beautiful environments to run through, and a challenging course to conquer.

Whispering Pines 50K was my fourth Ultra in 6 months, a training run to gauge how much progress I’ve made before I move onto the goal I’ve been really aiming for all year, Wild Hare 50 Mile in November.  Being a training run, I didn’t come into the race expecting to put on a strong performance, I hadn’t even tapered as much as I normally did for my previous Ultras.  Two weeks out, I ran 57 miles, the most that I have ever ran in a week, that left my legs completely trashed and while dialing it down to 30 miles the week before the race, I decided it would be a good idea that weekend for some punishing hill training at Cedar Ridge Nature Preserve; spending both Saturday and Sunday with 11 mile trips that had me climbing around +1,600ft each.  I wanted to see if I progressed to the point where I can get away with a light tapering period for a 50K distance race, 3 days till the race I worried if I would be able to finish it at all with how my legs were feeling.

WP50K would just be a training run, finishing without injury would be my goal I kept reminding myself right before the actual start...not that that ever does any good.  I blew past the first of three 10.33 mile loops in what is for me a blistering time of 1:54 hrs; I had been tagging along with a small band of 10-11 min/mile runners for most of the first loop with little regard to pacing myself for later in the race.  I was feeling a lot better than expected when I started, spending the last few days before the race walking for a couple miles each day helped to loosen up my legs a lot, and all the hill workouts I did the week before left my legs feeling strong climbing the uphills.  Then there are the trails themselves, nicely groomed pine-needle covered single track trails, while having quite a lot of roots to dance around, there was only a few rocks to worry about (nothing my Vibrams couldn’t comfortably handle), making the trails particularly fast and fun to fly through.  What started out as a simple training run, after seeing how well I did at the end of the first loop, ended up quickly being a race to see if I can best my first 50K finish time of 6:36 Hrs at Hells Hills 50K back in April.

I was starting to feel the effects of going out too quickly at the start of the race shortly into the 2nd loop, suddenly I started noticing all the hills I was blazing past in the first loop, over 900 ft elevation gain per loop, and fell over a minute behind on my pacing.  It was the pace I probably should have been running anyway, and it was a sign I needed to start taking things more conservatively.  I was struggling a bit to even keep up that slower pace, until I finally caught up with a friend who was having problems himself; misery loving company and all, we ended up running together the last half of the second loop.  Finishing the second loop with the time of 4:09 Hrs, I didn’t have much room for error if I wanted to beat my Hells Hills 50K finish time; bidding my friend goodbye at the starting area aid station, I started what would turn out to be a gauntlet of a third loop.

For around a dozen miles or so this lady has been on my tail, no matter how much I tried to lose her, she would always eventually catch up to me.  I was being chased by the Terminator (helps me sometimes to think I'm being chased by wild animals, Zombies, or killer Robots), even her stride sort of resembled how the T-1000 Liquid Terminator ran in Terminator 2; for the next 7 miles into the third loop, I was desperately trying to keep a comfortable lead ahead of her.  It was nearing Noon by this time, and the Sun was starting to burst through the morning cloud cover, driving up the temperature to the mid 80s; compounded with the already very humid weather, the third loop was a struggle just to keep going at times, every little hill was an excuse to walk.  Around the 6th mile into the third loop my water bottles ran dry (first time running out of fluids the whole race) a mile away till the next aid station, and my left calf muscle started to cramp up.  I had no choice but to slow down, and surely enough, the Terminator Lady passed me by around the 7th mile...after around 20 miles of chasing me.  I still had a small but comfortable margin to break my Hells Hills 50K record though, and that was enough to keep myself from taking it easy for the last 3 or so miles

Not only did I break my Hells Hills 50K record, I found the reserve the last few miles to haul my butt to finish in just under 6 and half hours (officially 6:29:17 Hr), a new 50K PR made all the more impressive considering Hells Hills 50K had half as much elevation gain!  I’m more confident than ever now after this race that I can handle my first 50 miler at Wild Hare in November.  I feel that I’ve been making significant progress ever since I started my 1st 50K Ultra in April, so it’s great to see my efforts in training so hard over the summer validated with a strong finish at Whispering Pines 50K. I’m also very thankful for this race for letting me discover the beauty that is Tyler State Park.  The trails running through lush and cavernous Pine forest areas were breathtakingly beautiful at times, I’m already trying to see when I can next make it out there again for a training run; Tyler State Park is a gem out in the middle of nowhere, I will definitely be back next year for this race!

2012 Capt'n Karl's Reveille Ranch 60K Race Report

Granite, granite, everywhere, but not a diamond tipped buzz-saw around to cut them into a kitchen countertop to be found...is my one sentence summary of Reveille Ranch 60K.  I hesitated a good deal signing up for the 60K portion of the Capt’n Karl’s Night-time trail run series at Reveille Ranch, my experience of beating my feet against the rocks and huge granite domes earlier in May at the Pandora BoX of RoX Marathon, held in the same venue, was not exactly pleasant.  Running in Vibram Five Finger Spyridon trail shoes, my feet couldn’t withstand the punishment on the granite domes and loose rocks scattered throughout the course at Pandora, coupled with the baking heat of May, I called it a day after only finishing half of the Marathon I signed up for.  So I had to ask myself did I really want to subject myself to a three loop 60K version of the race held at night?  Yes, yes I do...did I also mention that I can be a bit of a Masochist at times?

After a great experience running Pedernales Falls 60K a couple months earlier, I was itching for another Ultra to test myself against, not to mention another Tejas Trail event, which holds fun and challenging Ultras year round.  There were two other Capt’n Karl Trail races held in between Pedernales Falls and Reveille Ranch (Mule Shoe Bend and Colorado Bend), but I’m nowhere near the point in my running (I have only done two ultras at this point) where my legs can withstand (punishingly technical) Ultra’s on a monthly basis.  While recovering from Pedernales Falls, I mulled on whether to take on Reveille Ranch 60K for months; yes, Pandora kicked my ass earlier in May, but it wasn’t under the best of circumstances.  Pandora was held only a month after my first Ultra at Hells Hills 50K, I signed up partly out of impatience of wanting to attend another Trail race and maybe even a bit of cockiness in my surety of being able to handle “only” a Marathon after just finishing up 50K.  Frankly, I wasn’t experienced enough to know my own body's limits, and I was nowhere near ready to handle the heat of running in 90+ degree weather under a brutal Sun...Pandora was a valuable learning experience in any case.

My feet were getting a lot tougher since Pandora, since then, I managed to survive a fairly technical Ultra in Pedernales Falls and some other technical Trail races and courses with my Vibrams pretty well...I was developing Hobbit feet from all my Trail running; also, I’ve been running all throughout Summer and have been becoming more acclimated to the heat.  With my legs fully recovered from Pedernales Falls and more thoroughly trained, it was time I tested myself even further at Reveille Ranch 60K; not without precaution though, I bought a pair of Altra Lone Peaks as a back-up shoe incase I couldn’t handle the entire course with my Vibrams.  I bought the Altra’s out of a last minute panic, and they didn’t arrive till a week before the race, so I was only able to put in 6 miles with the shoes...thankfully, I didn’t need them.  

Out of inexperience and little knowledge of the course at the Pandora Marathon, I started out way too fast, and crashed and burned on the hill climbs, granite domes, and withering heat of the course; for Reveille Ranch, I had a plan, mainly run as lightly as I possibly could over the granite sections, walk all the major uphill sections, and make up as much time as I could on the more runnable dirt sections of the trail. For those unfamiliar with Vibrams and minimalist shoes, they promote running with “barefoot mechanics”, running lightly and efficiently while landing on your forefoot and avoiding striking the ground with your heels; like the mantra of the late and great Ultra Marathoner, Caballo Blanco, “Run Easy. Run Light. Run Smooth.”.  Running in this manner, while I personally believe is the best way to run, is easier said than done, especially over Ultra distances.  Running in Vibrams and other minimalist shoes, can be very taxing to the inexperienced Runner on their feet, calves, and quads because with little to no cushion on these shoes, you have to maintain proper “barefoot mechanics” at all times, in order to protect your feet from damage, but at a cost of seriously working out your calves and quads in order to absorb all the extra shock.  It could take some people up to half a year or more to fully transition to minimalist shoes, thankfully I already had a couple years of road experience with my Vibrams, but trails and Ultras are a different beast altogether.  During my first two Ultras, I wasn’t conditioned enough to keep my barefoot form over Ultra distances and would often shuffle my feet out of fatigue late into races, resulting in kicked rocks, falls, and even more painful feet.  With more training and experience, I resolved to keep up my barefoot form all-throughout Reveille Ranch, especially on the tough granite sections.  The plan worked for the most part, enough to see me through three punishing loops over the granite domes, but the trail often had precarious footing on the granite and more technical sections, that was made even more challenging to navigate at night with headlamps.  

As for my other two parts of the plan, walking all the major uphill sections and take advantage of the smoother dirt sections, the course, with around 1,000ft elevation gain per loop, only had a few major uphill sections; so instead of a few long sustained climbs, you’re faced with lots of small up and down climbs.  Most of the small climbs occur on the smoother dirt sections as well, so I was faced with the dilemma of whether I should walk these short uphills or run them because they were the most runnable and least technical sections of the course.  On the first loop of the course I started out walking the short climbs, with the reason that I was conserving energy for the 2nd and 3rd loops, but with so many frequent up and down climbs it was hard to get into a rhythm by interrupting my run with walks all the time, so I ended up running most of the way on the first loop, finishing it in under 3 hours.  As much as people try to pace themselves conservatively during the start of a race, it’s hard not to go out quickly with the stampeding herd of people all around you; it’s the only time you really get to run with a mass of people during these trail races, before everyone gets separated and it can get surprisingly isolating...especially at night.  

During the first hour of the race when there was still daylight, this is perhaps my favorite race photo that I have.

Fresh legs, daylight for most of the first loop, and getting caught up in the atmosphere of excitement that accompanies the start of every race, had me finishing the first loop quicker than I expected, would I have to pay for it on the second and third loops?  Thankfully, not as much I feared, with only a difference of around 30-40 minutes when comparing the times between my 2nd and 3rd loops to my 1st.  As I said earlier, once everyone spreads out, it can get isolating in the later stages of an Ultra, where you’ll probably see one person every 30 minutes or so on the course.  It’s a challenge of keeping motivated enough to push the pace and not fall into contentment when you’re alone and feeling fatigued; what helped to continue pushing myself to get through the second loop was chatting with random runners I met on the trail and playing the game of Hunter and Prey out there in the woods.  Whenever I heard footsteps behind me and looked back to see someone’s headlamps making their way towards me, I would be the Prey and try to avoid being caught as long I possibly could; vice versa if I spotted someone ahead of me I would go in Hunter mode and try to run them down like a deer.  For a lot of the second loop, I was playing this Hunter/Prey game with a lady that made loud jingling sounds as she ran.  We would yo-yo back and forth a lot, every time I heard her jingles behind me, I would make like a frightened deer and try to hold out as long as possible.  When I heard her jingles ahead of me in the distance, I would become fixated in Hunter mode to chasing it down; I probably got through half of the second loop playing this game before I eventually lost her.

By the midway point in the second loop, I was really starting to feel the granite pounding away against my Vibrams, it was especially tough at night trying to run lightly and quickly against granite that was roughly textured with large folds and crooks running every which way.  I started to curse my Vibrams and wonder why I so stubbornly insist on running these highly technical and rough courses with them, there’s probably a reason why I was practically THE ONLY ONE who was running in them for the 60K!  I was really considering switching them out for the Altra Lone Peaks for the 3rd loop, until my foot twisted and slipped inside a crack in the granite that sent me tumbling to the ground on top of it.  With any other shoe, I probably would have suffered a severe ankle sprain or broken it at worst, instead my foot just conformed to the crack in the ground and I was up and running with no sign of a sprain whatsoever.  With the Vibram Spyridons, you’re only 6.5mm off the ground, with no thick sole, it’s almost impossible to roll your ankle, even against the most uneven and rough terrain.  I decided to complete the race in my Vibrams no matter what after that incident, as for the pounding, I more or less blocked out the pain from the granite and rocks and made even more of a commitment to keeping a good and light running form.

Sometime during the night...

While I felt there was still a lot of life left in my legs after nearly 25 miles of rough trails finishing the second loop, the real test begins on the third loop; during Pedernales Falls 60K a few months earlier, my legs felt like they were ready to fall off after 30 something miles...I couldn’t risk that happening on the unforgiving granite of Reveille Ranch.  I focused more on nutrition and keeping my electrolytes up, with gels, an S-Cap, and three Endurolytes roughly every 3 and half miles; this seemed to have really worked in keeping my fatigue levels down in the later stages of the race.  Shortly into the 3rd loop, I finally caught up with my friend Marcos and ended up running with him most of the way and eventually finished together.  Having someone to run and talk with definitely helped out a lot in blocking out pain and keeping things mentally together; I didn’t quite feel the moments of panic and paranoia in the darkness of night like I did in Pedernales Falls because of it.  The going was slower on this third trip over the granite domes, fatigue was catching up, pain was multiplying, and to top it all off my headlamp was growing dimmer making the terrain even trickier to traverse.  I was growing less and less confident of finishing the race in under 10 hours and started to throttle back the pace with the goal getting out of reach.  My Garmin stopped working and I had no sense of where I was distance wise, reaching the second to last aid station was also the longest trip between aid stations, made all the more frustrating when you’re already 30 miles into the race.

When we hit the second to last aid station, coming in I figured we still had 6 miles to go, and with only an hour and 20 minutes left...so much for a sub 10hr finish.  Then the aid station volunteer informed me that we only had less than 5 miles to go...something inside me clicked, a second, or third...maybe even a fourth wind by this time was discovered and I took off trying to reach this goal.  Shortly after leaving the aid station, I dropped Marcos when we caught up with a friend of his and he stayed back to walk with him.  The next 2-3 miles were the least technical sections of the course, so that certainly helped, but I was running as fast as if I was only starting out the race.   I was starting to smell the barn and kept pushing the pace...until I hit the last stretch of rough granite that absolutely killed all the momentum I had built up earlier.  With my headlamps (wore one on my head and another on my waist) growing even dimmer so late into the race, I was pretty much forced to a crawl over this last extended stretch of winding granite.  I reached the last aid station, one and quarter miles to the finish, with only 10 minutes to go...an under 10 hour finish was officially out of reach.  Dejected, I was going to walk and slow run it to the finish, when Marcos finally caught up with me around a mile to go, we decided to finish strong, and crossed the finish line together at 10:06 Hrs.

On the home stretch, you’ll come out of the woods to a beautiful lit up site of the Reveille Ranch Pavilion from across a small lake; after some 36 miles of running, this is most stunning and welcoming sight you’ll ever see.  As much as I cursed the granite domes all through my run, running across them under a moonlit night can be a surreal experience at times; at the very top of the granite dome, it seemed as if I were running on the surface of the Moon itself...  Reveille Ranch 60K was a very challenging experience, a race I probably wouldn’t want to tackle again for a good long while (oh yes, I am so sick of granite!), but it has been the most rewarding of the three Ultra’s I’ve completed so far.  With this race in the bag, I’m a lot more confident in tackling my next distance feat, bring on Cactus R.....wait, make that Wild Hare 50 Mile!