|
Holiday
Lake 50k – February 11, 2006 By
Hamilton Tyler
The Holiday Lake 50k was held on February 11, 2006 at the at
the Holiday
Lake 4-H Educational Center in
the 19,000 acre Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest, about 15 miles
northeast of Appomattox and 37 miles from Lynchburg, Virginia. Winter
weather was forecast for the day, but when I stepped out of the bunkhouse
at the start in the morning, I was greeted by a cold rain with
temperatures barely above freezing. After
a quick breakfast, I lined up at the starting line with almost 200 other
ultrarunners.
When the race started at 6:30 a.m., it was still dark.
Many people had flashlights, but I figured it would not be long
before it was light and I was going to be behind a bunch of people on the
trail anyway which would keep things slow.
The leaders sprinted the first quarter mile on the road to get a
good spot on the trail. I
ended up behind a bunch of runners when we turned onto the single-track
trail which was probably a blessing in disguise since it kept me from
going out too fast.
The first section was undulating single-track trail that followed
the shoreline halfway around Holiday Lake.
There was pretty good footing and a few small hills.
After a few miles the course left the lake and opened up onto dirt
roads. Sometime after the
first aid station the rain changed to a wet snow and it was like running
in a winter wonderland. The
dirt roads were a little muddy, but not too bad at this point and I made
pretty good time. The mud was
washed off my shoes by a creek crossing.
The initial shock of the cold water was unpleasant, but within a
couple of minutes the water had sloshed out of my shoes and did not bother
me. I was wearing Montrail
Masai trail shoes for this race.
I reached the third aid station and found that the aid station was
not quite set up yet since they were leap frogging from the first aid
station. No problem since I
still had fluids in the handheld I was carrying.
I pressed on toward the fourth aid station. Somewhere in this
section we transitioned back onto trail which was pretty pleasant at
first. After the fourth aid
station the trail got really muddy as it approached the other side of the
lake and footing was bad. About
2 miles from the end of the first loop the leaders started coming back
toward me. The second loop
you ran the opposite direction as the first loop. I counted how many
people passed me, but got discouraged when I got to 30.
The snow seemed to switch back and forth to rain periodically, just
to make things interesting.
I struggled in to finish the first loop in 2 hours 32 minutes.
While the race is billed as a “50k+”, it is close to 34 miles,
so each loop was about 17 miles. My
average pace for the first loop was 8 minutes and 56 seconds for 17 miles.
I had hoped the turnaround would be near my car, but it was not and
I did not want to waste 5 minutes to get a can of Ensure, so I ate a
little bit at the turnaround and headed out.
The next section back to the fourth aid station was probably the
low point of the race for me. I
was not feeling very good and it was very muddy.
I also had to dodge the other 140 or so runners coming at me on the
single track as I struggled in the mud.
This section took me about 9 minutes longer than the first lap.
I reached the fourth aid station and was thrilled that they had hot
chicken noodle soup that I downed quickly.
Much of ultrarunning is about preparation.
Not just preparing yourself physically for the race, but also
making sure you have the correct clothing available.
I definitely hit a home run with my Patagonia Specter jacket.
I was dry all day and comfortable because it was well vented.
Although it was expensive, it was worth every penny.
My gloves were a huge failure.
They soaked through and my hands chilled to the bone.
Luckily I had thought there might be such a problem, so I had taken
the empty plastic bagel bags from breakfast that morning.
I put one of those on each hand to keep my hands warm.
I felt better on the dirt road section although the dirt road was
now muddy and also partially snow covered.
The precipitation was all snow at this point.
The mud definitely slowed me down. I also determined I was not
drinking enough. The chilly
temperatures were just not triggering my thirst, so I forced myself to
drink.
The runners were pretty spread out during this section and every
once and a while I would catch up with someone and converse for a few
minutes. I have a tendency to
stay at a slower pace when passing someone so I forced myself to speed up
and pass each of these people. At
some point I caught up with two women who had just missed a turn.
The course was marked with white ribbons and flags that were hard
to see in the snow. They
began to turn around just as I called them back onto the course.
To thank me they promptly both took off (I found out later that
only one was racing) and this was the only person that passed me the
second half of the race. At
least she was less than half my age I later determined from the results.
I finally reach the single track in the last section (the first
section of the first loop) and am relieved to see it is in pretty good
shape. I am able to run at a
good pace and catch one last runner.
I finally reach the sign that proclaims “one mile to go -
honest.” I don’t see the
lady that passed me. It is
snowing very hard as I finally turn onto the road and approach the finish.
Race Director David Horton shakes my hand as I cross the finish
line in 5 hours and 16 minutes in 32nd place out of 178
finishers. My pace on the
second lap dropped to 9 minutes and 39 seconds.
Overall pace for the 34 miles was 9 minutes and 18 seconds.
Overall I am pleased with the effort and call it a successful day.
A hot shower has never felt so good after a race.
Another outstanding event put on by David Horton. Here
are some links to pictures that may or may not work. http://www.waramos.com/displayimage.php?album=104&pos=95 http://www.waramos.com/displayimage.php?album=104&pos=94 http://www.waramos.com/displayimage.php?album=104&pos=
|