LLTH 2016

Louisville Lovin' The Hills 2016

With the new year in full swing and a good amount of miles on my legs so far, I thought it would be a good idea to go out and try my first trail race. Having never ran more than a mile or two on trails in my entire life, I really didn't know what to expect. Leading up to the race, I knew that I would be competing in the 15 mile event. My training peaked at about 53 miles in a week with my longest run being only 15 miles (one week before the race, I might add). With many years of running cross country, I figured the off-road running on trails would be the same concept. I will explain why I was so wrong.

I started the morning of the race with two pieces of toast and peanut butter with honey (major key) and a banana - a typical race day breakfast. I knew this race would be longer than normal, however, so I threw down a Clif Bar (my coffee-equivalent) on the way to the race, as I did not plan on eating or drinking during the run.

I arrived at the race about an hour early with the intention of warming up and getting a good starting spot. Neither of these, I found, are nearly as important as they are for road races. Seeing not one person near the starting line with thirty minutes till the gun, I decided I was wasting my internal warmth and went to wait in the car. I also decided to ditch a warm up run when I didn't see anyone doing it. At this point, I think I was just waiting for someone to walk up to me with a check list of what to do to prepare for a trail run. Nobody came.

Time passed and the air horn finally went up - I had a good view of this because I got that front spot I so desperately desired. The horn sounded and my track/cross instincts shot me out in front of the pack, leaving hundreds of experienced trail runners - who knew NOT to sprint - in the dust. About thirty seconds in, I and two other runners had all but forgotten the rest of the competitors. My suggestion in hindsight is this: DON'T DO THIS!!! Adrenaline was flowing and my Hoka Challenger ATRs were blazing downhill into the depths of the woods.

Lesson #? - Running downhill is fun...until you realize you have to run back up.

Mile one came up as 6:17 (on pace for about a 1:34:15 finish - a course record by a lot). Mile two was not much different as a 6:21. I was feeling great! The gravel, downhill road had just turned into dirt trails and what to my wandering eyes did appear??? The first hill.

Leading up to the race, I had been reading Relentless Forward Progress by Bryon Powell - an excellent read for anyone training to be an ultra runner. In this book, it talked about how one stark realization for the road runner on trails is the necessity of walking. I went into the race with the mindset that walking is weak and only for beginning runners. Let me preface the rest of this blog with the total elevation gain of 2600ft. from start to finish. That's about a half mile of vertical gain. By mile three, I knew where the race got its name.

Mile three is also significant because this is where I lost the lead to Greg Fraze, the eventual winner of the race. I happened to be walking up a hill when I finally realized I had gone out too fast, and that the competition was already there to take the lead. Although I was kind of bummed, I decided I was going to stick with this guy for as long as I could.

Skipping forward a few miles, I remained about ten meters behind. At the 6 mile mark, where the starting line was, I saw my parents to whom I expressed: "I underestimated the hills." Indeed I had. I passed on the available electrolyte supplement and water and decided I wanted to catch the leader, no matter what. It seemed as if, however, every time I started to catch up, we hit an uphill. At such a point, he would extend the lead up to thirty or forty meters. I remember praying out loud that the hills would eventually cease and that the finish would be just around the corner at the bottom of a crazy downhill. To my dismay, this did not happen.

At this point, you may be thinking that I was having the worst time of my life. This is so not true. By about mile ten, I had solidified my love for such a difficult race. The gnarly hills, slick terrain, plummeting downhills, unexpected tree roots - what more could you ask for? This was putting road racing to shame! I was having the time of my life...until the last mile...

Little did I know, the race was actually going to be 15.43 miles long instead of 15. Also, to my surprise, the last mile was uphill - entirely. Both of these factors played into my failure of a finish. For ten miles, I had maintained a decent pace (working towards a sub-2 hour finish). Miles 14 and 15 were quite interesting. In my entire running career, my slowest mile ever was still below 9 minutes. The last two miles were both in the 10 minute range. Not to include the last half mile which took me 6 minutes!

As I trudged up the final hill, I remember hearing music in the distance - a runner's signal that the end is near. Being completely exhausted, I closed my eyes periodically and grabbed a tree for a quick breather. Behind me, I heard something I thought I wouldn't hear: the heavy breathing of a runner. This was at 15.2 miles. At 15.25, I was passed by yet another runner. I was now in 4th place and in my finishing position.

I crossed the finish line in 2:09:17. Considering my goals were 2:10 and top-ten, I was very pleased. I was even more pleased to see peanut butter and honey at the finish area. Also, I have never been a coffee drinker...I downed three cups of straight black. Now, I absolutely love it! I was greeted by a race director shortly after finishing. She congratulated me and said that I reminded her of a runner named Scott Breeden who had supposedly performed similar to me a few years prior as an 18 year old. Seeing where he is at now as a runner, I immediately became optimistic for what my near future in running has to offer.

I learned so much in this race that I think a separate blog is needed! Briefly, I will say that I should have trained more on trails, no doubt. Also, don't start out too fast. By this I am not only speaking of the pace, but also about running in general. My goal was to run a 100 miler in my first year of ultras. Now I want to relax and enjoy running as I grow as an ultra runner. Lastly, I learned that you can always rely on a pair of Hokas to get any job done, both on the road and trails.

I am proud to say that this was my first of many trail races to come! LLTH, I will see you next year.