27 May 2008
24 May 2008
Check out these beauties! These are Asics Gel Nimbus 9's. Nimbus is my fav runnin shoe of all time. The Nimbus 10 just came out recently so you can probably score a great price on these pups. You can see the sticker price is $119 but I got em for $79.99! SWEET. I've run multiple marathons on the Nimbus 6's you won't go wrong with these. These are a cushioning shoe for neutral pronators. Good for larger runners too. (I go 6' 3" and 195 lbs).
03 May 2008
Stump Jump '06
Stump Jump 2006 Race Report
Sponsored by Rock Creek Outfitters
Chattanooga, Tennessee
7 Oct 06
Signal Mountain, TN
Schwag.
Shwag-ola.
Schwag-o-rama.
Schwag-in-heimer
Schwag-a-licious!
In a word, this describes the Rock Creek Outfitter’s 2006 edition of the Stump Jump conducted on Signal Mountain in the Prentice Cooper State Forest. The Cumberland trail was the venue for the 159 runners in the 50K race.
We pulled the Astro Van out of Pensacola, FL at about 0630 hours on Friday morning and began the roughly 400-mile trip to the northeast. Wife Becky, daughters, Anyse, Miranda, and Joli as well as son David were along as my support crew.
A slight mist was in the air as we drove north across the top of Florida. By the time we were in Alabama completely overcast skies were the order of the day but this gave way to blue skies north of Birmingham. I was hoping for mild temperatures for race day (especially after a long summer of hot and humid runs!). The race materials indicated the average temps for the race in years past were 45 or so for the low and in the mid 70’s for the high (whoa, would that be sweet!). Hope springs eternal!
We arrived in the Chattanooga area around 3 PM (having lost an hour). We made our way to Rock Creek Outfiters for the vendor fair. The North Face, Keen, Suunto, Ibex, Salomon, Montrail, Camelbak etc. were represented. I had so much fun checking out all of the cool gear that I never even made it into the store. I got a number of cool stickers, a Frisbee, key chain, and a personal first aid kit from The North Face, as well as a hat from Suunto. The race schwag was indeed rolling!
I picked up my race packet and met Jamie Sanders the race director for this years event. He asked if we were still going to camp over at the soccer fields and I assured him that we were indeed. The race bag was first class and included the following items:
1. The bag by The North Face (red, with all of the race info on it)
2. The Wicked T (Technical T) by Mountain Hardware (sweetest race shirt I’ve ever seen a $45 value) with all of the race info on the back
3. Smartwool socks ($15 value)
4. 20% coupon for any Suunto product (from Rock Creek or Rockcreek.com)
5. 20% coupon for any Keen product (from Rock Creek or Rockcreek.com)
6. Ibex ear warmer (came in real handy race morning)
7. Hammer Gel
8. LaraBar
The kids weren’t getting half of the thrill I was so after an hour or so we decided to walk around a bit. Just up the street from the store was a riverwalk area. The Tennessee River runs through the downtown making it a very relaxing and beautiful scene. There is a large walking bridge over the river that affords an amazing view of the cityscape as well as the myriad of surrounding mountains. We spied out a large indoor carousel which we took a ride on. Children and seniors can ride for .50 and adults are only $1. I was impressed!
After John finished, yet more schwag. At several points goodies were being tossed pell-mell into the crowd. Several items hit our row but the kids missed them (more time playing catch rather than reading books?). We all went away inspired, happy, and full. We made our way back up signal mountain to the soccer complex next to Nolan Elementary School.
Uwharrie Mountain Run '06
Uwharrie Mountain Run 2006 (15th Annual)
Race Report
P.D. “Team” Laws
Friday 3 Feb, 2006
I left the house in Pensacola at 0400 heading for the Alcorn’s (my race crew). I hadn’t been to Jeff & Dana’s house in Milton before so that added to the fun immediately. It was cool and the thick mist enveloped everything. It was especially thick as I crossed Pensacola Bay. I checked my directions multiple times as I neared their place. I did find it after missing the turn on my initial approach and was only a few minutes late. We tossed all of their stuff into the back of the truck and headed north on 29 out of town. The 630 mile trip disappeared under the tires in a mere 12.5 hours (give or take with the time change). I somehow drove right by exit 43 in NC so we ended up doing some off-itinerary cross-country county to county sight-seeing!
About 1700 or so we made our way to hwy 49 then 109 into Eldorado and Troy and eventually into Uwharrie. The mountians (by southland standards) were densely covered with vegetation many of the trees leafless in the late winter splendor. The evening chill and the lengthening shadows sharpened my already heightened senses. We were weary from the many hours in the truck but were excited to be “almost there”. After some intense map study and several stops and starts we made our way south to the Uwharrie Volunteer Fire Department, hung a left (SR 1303/Ophir Rd) and headed down the road into blink-or-you’ll-miss-it Ophir. Just past the United Methodist Church was the right turn (SR 1306/Flint Hill Rd) to the Uwharrie Trail Head (Jumping Off Rock Trail Head) and race start 1.8 miles away! My heart jumped ahead about 10 BPM as we entered the final stretch anticipating our arrival around every corner (the roadway is as advertised in the race material: very narrow and twisty. It seemed to be a single lane with a dividing line!) I was driving too fast!! For me the journey to and the discovery of new places and faces is one of the great allures of trail running! Never knowing what lies over the hill, around the bend, or down the next descent makes every race an awesome adventure and a pure shot of adrenaline!! Having rounded the last bend we crossed a narrow bridge and arrived at the Start/Finish area for the 40 mile race. Uwharrie has 3 trail races on the same day (8, 20, & 40 miles). The 8 and 20 are one-way courses. The 8-mile ends at Hwy 109 and the 20 spans the length of the trail ending near the junction of SR 1150/River Road and Hwy 24/27. The 40 milers are treated to double shot of fantastic single track by u-turning and heading back to the start. The entire distance is on trail (with the exception of several road crossings).
There was some standing water here and there since a nasty front had blasted through the southeast mid-week and had dumped rain here too. The weather report for Saturday had oscillated between 30 and 50% chance of rain for race day w/ overcast and about 65 for a high and mid 40’s for the low.
There were two “good ol boys” near the starter’s tent. One had a slingshot and the other a cheesy looking fishing pole.
“Now this is different” I thought to myself…
“So, are there trout in the creek” I asked.
“No” one of them said (pregnant pause….)
“So whatcha doin?” I ask (looking at the pole and the slingshot).
“We’re running a pull line for the radio for tomorrow” they replied nearly in unison. “Right on” I quip feeling immediately better about the situation.
“HAM radio will reach to the other aid stations on the course?” I retort as a statement and a question.
“yep”.
Well alrighty then. As I turned away the one with the slingshot rears back and the rubber rockets off of the crosspieces and nearly knocks him out. I turn away and don’t dare to look back.
Our mission here was obviously done; we had communed with the locals AND visualized the starting line. I highly recommend the practice of finding the start. I assume (dangerous) everyone does this although we didn’t encounter anyone else. Now all we needed to do was backtrack out of here and find our way to the hotel taking especial care to ensure we could make our way back here in the dark! (incidentally the RD’s offered free primitive camping at West Morris Mountain campground which is right near the start finish area a great boon for those who chose to go that route. It was our original plan to take advantage of this benefit but plans changed). We made the 30 min trip into Asheboro, NC to the hotel (Hampton Inn). Dinner was my call and I chose “Billy Bob’s BBQ”. Two words: BIG MISTAKE! The BBQ was awful, Jeff’s steak was a mass of fat/gristle and Dana’s plate was nearly full when we left. ‘Course the sign on the roof featuring a dude with no teeth should have been a stone cold give-a-way. Back at the hotel the hot tub was a great way to end the day.
Saturday 4 Feb, 2006
One should never count on any real quality sleep on the night before a big race and though I wasn’t counting on it for myself I did get a few hours in before it was wake up time @ 0430. I lubed my feet and personal areas generously with body glide, donned my heart rate strap, put on some black injinji toe socks (love em) then Under Armour tech undies (black) UA tights (long) yellow UA heat gear shirt (no chafing guaranteed; we saw a guy at the race with twin trails of blood to the waist from his nips!! OUCH!!), yellow Nike over-shirt, yellow and black GEER hat, Gore-Tex ankle gaiters and the North Face Ultra XCR 103’s trail running shoes (this would be my first race on these shoes; in retrospect I give them 5 stars: the Gore-Tex was tested all day and they performed amazingly. I was very pleased with their performance, my feet felt tired but not beat up at the end of the day.) On my left wrist was my Garmin 201 GPS and on the right was a Suunto X6HR (which would give me altitude, HR, and weather data). My waist pack (Columbia 5 pocket style) was ready w/ MP3 player, extra batts, gels, sunglasses, warm hat, TP (just in case). I carried 2 amphipod handheld water bottles w/ straps (20 oz ea).
I had multiple flyers helmet bags with ziplocs in them labeled for the various check points throughout the race to assist my crew in giving me what I needed when I needed it. I briefed Jeff (fearless crew chief/driver/motivator/chef/strong male role model/massuese?) one last time to push fluids and calories to the end and to be prepared to encounter possible resistance from me and not to take I did or said personally. This approach worked pretty well throughout the race and allowed my crew to have everything I needed available when I rolled in to each checkpoint. Having a crew was also super nice (this was my first run w/ a crew). I felt spoiled throughout and enjoyed seeing familiar faces throughout the race. I had the following in my bags:
Mile 8 bag: 1 ensure (350 cal), 2 endurolyte electrolyte pills (Hammer Nutrition) several gels, 1 PB&J (on toast, I’ve found you can run better w/ toast!), gatorade.
Mile 20 bag: All of the above w/ 2 ensures (700 cals), 4 endurolyte electrolyte pills (Hammer Nutrition), more gels, more PB&J’s, a change of clothes, socks, different shoes (not used), clif bars, myoplex, Gatorade, Body Glide, Myoplex.
Mile 32 bag: Ensure (1), 4 endurolyte electrolyte pills (Hammer Nutrition), gels, PB&J’s, Gatorade.
In addition my crew pushed some items from the aid stations as well. (I was not counting on anything I wasn’t sure would work having tried it on training runs).
(Back to the start): Upon arrival (we were about 70 min early, Jeff drove because he didn’t want me to kill us/good call) it was still quite dark but we were able to get my race packet, t-shirt, and number (561) easily. It was misty/drizzly but not cold. What a slendiferous day for a trail run!! I spent my time visiting the porta-john about twice for real and about 5-6 times for false alarms (don’t you hate that?). Meanwhile, others started to filter in and soon there were 100+ of us milling about counting the minutes.
The 8 & 20 mi races started at 0800. Right about 0700 one of the RD’s greeted us on the roadway and did some brief housekeeping with several racers who had not checked in. That done she wished us a great run and said “ready, set, GO!” we were off! The darkness was still clinging to the mountain so I wore my headlamp for the first 2-mile stretch. We went about 75 yards on the pavement before turning right abruptly and heading onto the Uwharrie Trail. Here begun 40 great miles of single-track bliss. As promised the trail was covered in fallen leaves which did a great job of concealing all sorts of surprises! Everyone carefully picked their way up the hill in one large gaggle as the leaders (jackrabbits/gazelles/roadrunners, you pick) disappeared over the first rise. I had three mantras in mind for this race:
1) “Ease ‘er on back” (Jeff’s way of telling me to go out slow),
2) “Respect the Distance” (my longest race to date), and
3) “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast” (This one comes from Military Freefall Jumpmaster School but certainly applies to ultra running; especially to a rank amateur like myself: “steady, steady, steady”, conserve fuel and energy for later in the race).
Additionally I was hoping for sub 10 hours, negative splits, no cramps, and a good strong finish. (was this too much to ask?) I had done a good deal of training on a local trail in Pensacola and 26+ was my longest distance in one bout on the trail. Many shorter runs enhanced my confidence and trail running ability. Walking the ups and running the flats and downs was also employed as a strategy. Once we pulled out of the 2 mile (saw my crew at 2 about 30 min in) I got a sandwich & pulled in behind a group of runners who seemed to have a pretty nice pace and settled in. Once I got to the mile 8 check point in just under 2 hours (1:54). By this time I had become acquainted with the finer details of this trail. A light rain/mist had been steadily falling with gusts of wind here and there. The temperature remained pleasant and cool though. The passage of leaves carried by the wind added some movement to the scene. As the trail wound down into some of the ravines and hollows racers encountered stretches of mud and boggy areas. This is where the shoes really shined. Add to this literally dozens of creek crossings (just one on a bridge) and it turned into some wet, wild, and muddy fun. The vegetation in the ravines was quite lush compared to the ridge tops with wild walnuts, oaks, magnolia, and other greenery all around (kind of like a semi-thick rainforest). Almost all of the other trees in the forest were leafless. I don’t recall seeing many pines. There was a several mile stretch that paralleled the creek that was really cool to run in as the vegetation was tight on both sides (including overhead). White blazes on the trees (trail indicators) were fairly evenly spaced but there were a few spots where you had to stop to ascertain where to go next.
In this section of the race I came up behind a female (#508, didn’t get her name) from Durham, NC I believe, who used to live in Mobile, AL. We fell into a nice long conversation that lasted for the remainder of the miles into the 20-mile turnaround. She was a 3-time vet of the course so I picked her brain about the course, my pacing strategy, and a myriad of other topics. She shared her opinions on many of the ultra events in the SE (and beyond /having run many of them) and gave me some great nuggets of wisdom to consider. I appreciated her candor and willingness to share so freely her knowledge and experience in the sport. While traversing one of the side hill “ups” on the course we encountered the only fall I witnessed by an older fellow who was a little bit in front of us. We helped him up, assured his readiness to continue, and took the trail ahead of him. It seems like mile 16-17 or so when the leaders of the 20-mile race came whizzing by. Man, were they moving out! I guess with the right mix of natural ability, stamina, overall fitness, and training amazing results are possible! For the next little while a small parade of folks passed us in turn as they started to “sniff the finish line”. About this same time, the leader of the 40-mile (Sean Andrish) came whizzing by going the other direction. His nearest competitor was many minutes back and then a pretty good procession going the other way. When I pulled into the mid-point there was a pretty good crowd there and I had some difficulty seeing Dana (Jeff was on the trail trying to get a picture worthy of Trail Runner Magazine). Eventually I spied her out and made my way to my gear for a clothing/sock change and a quick refuel. It was about 5:07 at this point.
I doffed the tights in favor of some red Brooks shorts and a Gray UA heat gear shirt (same outfit I ran GEER in last fall, c’mon good Karma!). Socks off and a good lubing of the feet with Body Glide (well worth the time and effort to do this here). I had slogged through many muddy, wet, and sloppy areas to this point and the feet were still largely dry and but for a small blood blister on the left inside ankle all looked good. (I should have put something over this area as by race end there was another small blister on top of the one already formed). Another pair of Injinji’s, water bottles refilled with gatorade, several ensures, and the endurolyte pills down the hatch (4) and a PB&J for the road and I was on my way back to the trail start. The legs felt pretty good and a fresh burst of energy from the crowd got me rolling down the trail at a pretty good clip. In addition for the next 4 miles or so I encountered all of the remaining 20 milers as well as those 40-mile folks who were behind me. It was nice to see those faces and I gained momentum from each as they passed (each runner has an aura of energy about them it seems and one can “draft” off of it). Many courteously made way on the trail for my passage.
I don’t think the sun had peaked out even once yet and it was after noon. There did appear to be a few patches of blue sky peaking between the densely packed clouds now though, which continued to increase until the later miles when the sun did show. By mile 32 I had begun to press the pace a little and had passed a few folks here and there in the process. We were all strung out over the trail as everyone chose their best possible pace. I was carefully managing the remaining energy reserves I had and found myself running the miles between 30 and 40 pretty much all alone. (I was at mile 30 in 7:51)
When I pulled into 32 my crew was there pushing food (I must admit I had tossed the last PB&J they gave me after carrying it for about 3-4 miles). The thought of eating anything was starting to wear a little thin with me. If there was a low in this race this was it. Jeff wanted me to eat several cookies and just the thought of it was not tempting in the least. I did get a gel or two down and an Ensure (if I remember right). I also had a few orange slices. I was feeling a “little grumpy” at this point of the race. I guess every long run has its “ebbs and flows”…
The sun was now out and I was going to get out my sunglasses but didn’t want to stop and do so, the sun seemed to be well to my back at this point so I just enjoyed going forward. The North Face Ultra 103’s were rolling really nicely. A time check or two revealed that I would indeed break 10 hours if I continued with the present pacing. My legs felt OK and I hadn’t experienced any cramping. After the 35 and 38 mi checkpoints I picked it up as much as I could given the constraints of the terrain. I jokingly commented to a fellow runner that the race material “promised” at least one good fall to every runner and that I hadn’t had mine yet (my closest call was at a spot where I went off trail to avoid some Scouts with backpacks, stepped on a small leaf-covered downed tree and nearly impaled myself) we joked that I should demand a full refund! Even without the obligatory fall I was having a grand time!
The finish wound across the top of the last ridge and then down the rock covered side of the mountain. This blunted my planned sprint to the finish and required careful foot placement to keep from “buying the farm” in the last .7 mile. I came to the finishing line in 9:42:03. My faithful crew was there with cameras in hand and we exchanged high-fives and hearty back slaps all around. The volunteers at the finish were kind enough to remark about how fresh I looked. I was then handed a nice piece of handmade pottery. I was flush with excitement at finishing my first 40 miler all the while listening to my internal dialogue:
“you know [on this day] you could have gone farther….”
Ahhh, never satisfied; for now however I was very pleased with my performance. I had respected the distance, the terrain, stayed well fueled, and even run negative splits! I hope that I can recreate the inner feeling of satisfaction I experienced at the finish at Uwharrie countless more times in the future!
Now where’s a really cool 50 miler in the southeast?
Recommendations anyone?
Here is the Mile/Elevation/Mile Splits as recorded by the Garmin and Suunto:
| Mile # | Elevation | Time |
| 1 | 855 | 17:02 |
| 2 | 816 | 11:11 |
| 3 | 645 | 14:57 |
| 4 | 644 | 13:08 |
| 5 | 649 | 12:39 |
| 6 | 642 | 14:08 |
| 7 | 634 | 14:12 |
| 7.3 | 771 | |
| 8 | 661 | 17:21 |
| 9 | 638 | 15:58 |
| 10 | 740 | 13:35 |
| 11 | 721 | 14:36 |
| 12 | 700 | 14:50 |
| 13 | 795 | 15:51 |
| 13.1 | 978 | |
| 14 | 562 | 14:55 |
| 15 | 727 | 13:42 |
| 16 | 526 | 18:06 |
| 17 | 630 | 19:45 |
| 18 | 629 | 14:29 |
| 19 | 484 | 15:06 |
| 20.3 | 632 | 21:54 |
| 21.5 | 468 | |
| 22.2 | 740 | |
| 22.7 | 456 | 14:26 |
| 23 | | 16:10 |
| 24 | 727 | 14:30 |
| 24.7 | 805 | |
| 25 | | 15:14 |
| 26 | 718 | 12:41 |
| 27 | 760 | 20:38 |
| 28 | | 19:38 |
| 29 | 645 | 16:36 |
| 29.9 | 661 | |
| 30.1 | 803 | 20:20 |
| 30.8 | 539 | |
| 31.9 | 457 | |
| 32.4 | 696 | 13:09 |
| 33.1 | 767 | |
| 34 | 656 | 14:15 |
| 35.4 | 737 | 14:11 |
| 36.6 | 840 | 14:46 |
| 37.4 | 729 | 17:21 |
| | | Avg:15:30 |
| | | |
The Garmin kept a pretty good lock on satellites throughout. The Suunto recorded the following: 6620’ of ascent, 6440’ of descent, a high point of 1079’ (based on 499 at the start), and a low point oif 472’. Heart Rate Data: Min: 52, Max: 172, Average: 138
Here’s some race info about Uwharrie Mountain Run from the NC Ultra Adventures Web Site: http://www.ncultra.org/article.php?story=20060202114203210&query=uwharrie
And the Race Site: http://www.raceuwharrie.com/
p.s. After having this proofed this race report my crew chief had the following input:
1. Easer back
2. Don't lose the trail
3. Hydrate.
I also thought it could have used some more commentary about you driving like a maniac when we were trying to find the finish line.
Sounds like a story for another day…
PDL
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