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| At the start of the race |
(I find it interesting that I am writing this report as I am
traveling to CO for another race – have to use the time wisely, right? It might be shorter than other reports, but
still *hopefully* interesting).
For several years Joey has wanted me to run Grandfather Mountain
with him. He has run that race with most of his angels, except for me at this
point. So, finally, this year, I put it on my
list.
My mileage was down after Sunburst and Boogie going into
this race. If you have been keeping up
with my running this past spring, you already know that I had been racing a lot
striving for that elusive BQ. I am not
one of those folks who can continually race and expect to do well, so I took a
few weeks with much lower mileage to recover a bit. Tendons were inflamed, muscles were sore, and
my body was telling me that I needed to back off some.
Going into Grandfather I knew it was going to have to be an
‘easy’ effort because the following weekend I was going to be running in a 200
mile relay in Colorado. Nothing like
running a App Mountain Marathon to warm up for a Rocky Mountain Relay! Hopefully it will work out well for me!
The kids and I headed out to Linville Falls Thursday
afternoon in the Jeep with the camper in tow.
We set up then headed over to the start of “The Bear”. It is a 5 mile run straight up the side of
the mountain. No, I was not running it,
but wanted to see the start of it. Lots
of runners had gathered and it was interesting to be on the other side of the
start line as a spectator. I was loving
the excitement and part of me was ready to run it – lol!
From there we drove around a bit, drove on the viaduct,
(really good clear view today, snapped some pics) and had dinner in Sugar Mountain.
The next day the kids and I did some sightseeing and hiked
over to Linville Falls, not the town, but the actual waterfalls off the parkway. Water was a little deep and fast from all the
rain NC had been getting! Later on in
the evening we met up with some running friends at Tim’s house for a
pre-Grandfather Marathon pasta party.
Andy met up with us there after driving in from Raleigh on his
motorcycle. Great friends and great
food! It was a fun place to hang out with friends, meet new friends, and carb
up for the race.
Gnarles Barkley woke me up as he does each race morning at 3:45am
singing “Crazy”. Yeah, I’m just like
that – hearing that song on race morning gets me ready for the day!
I did not plan well for this race. Low mileage going into it and no gu’s. I usually have 6 gus with me, but I had run
out and did not get to the store to get any.
Andy had brought me some things like gummy bears, red vines and
smarties. Woo! Yep, those will work too! I had about a dozen s-caps so between the
sweet snacks, s-caps and Gatorade at the aid stations I figured I could wing
it…
We got to Kidd Brewer Stadium a bit before 5:30am. It wasn’t long before the MTC and NCRC crew
had gathered, several of us sporting our kilts. The Highland Games are the place to wear them
I hear ;) I think it was Jenn who gave
me a couple gels before the race – thank you!
Tucked them into my flip belt and I was ready to go!
We assembled on the track and soon the gun went off. We took off around the track. It felt like a ‘warmup’
then we hit the streets.
I treated this race like an ultra where I ran the flats and
downhills and powerwalked the uphills. I
was not prepared to race this event after taking several weeks to recover from
Sunburst n Boogie. I was just out here
to have a good time with friends, oh and climb a mountain – lol!
I knew early on in the race that this was not going to be
easy. It was a humid morning and I was
having a difficult time breathing. By
mile 2 I knew it was going to be a long day and I just had to ‘get it done’
with no time goal other than meeting the cutoff. Ricky and I were running along together and
he knew that I should have not been breathing that hard that early on. He was talking me through it as we ran on,
but I knew I had to back of the pace.
In doing this, I was not able to keep up with any of the NCRC/MTC group
- Jenn, Margo, or Joey. I was hoping to
keep up with them for the first 10 miles.
Joey has pictures of his angels at a gate near the parkway at mile 10,
but there would not be one with him and I this year… Sorry Joey!
We start at 3,333 elevation, then climb to 3,750 at mile 10 then downhill back to the 3,400 at mile 13. The next 4 -5 miles have a tough climb back up to 4,000. Lots of power walking and running when it was
runnable.
I was not completely alone for the next 15 miles. I ran with Marty from the start of the
race. We met in 2010 at OBX and again at
Pilot Mountain in 2011. It was good to
log a few miles with him once again.
Starting about mile 17 after we got off the gravel road it
became quite runnable. I was feeling
good and able to pick up the pace. Nice
winding road towards the mountain.
Somewhere around mile 19 is when Marty started pulling away.
He was running strong. I might have been able to keep up had I had my usual
gu/scap every 4 miles plan, but I didn’t…
Mile 23 is when the climb started again - had to reach 4,279 by the time I hit the finish. More digging deeper and pushing forward. Hamstrings were really tightening up but
pushed through it. It was these last few
miles where I was going back n forth with another lady – she was 65 years old
and running along great. She called me
awesome and I called her awesomeness. We
pushed each other along when the course started going uphill once again. I hope when I am 65 I am running marathons up
mountains like she is!! People like her
inspire me to keep on keepin on.
Mile 25, with permission, I stretched my legs on someone’s truck bumper
– lol! The owner asked if I needed
anything, gu, Gatorade etc, but told them all I needed was to stretch a bit and
keep moving. I was getting so close to
the finish! Shortly after I started back
running again I saw Joey coming back down the mountain to pick me up and run it
in with me. Woo! How awesome is that?? In running it in with him I pushed the pace
up that last uphill section and was feeling every bit of it. We made that right turn into the finish area
and up a gravel hill. There were a LOT
of folks cheering us on (benefit of finishing behind your friends – lol!) Marty
was there and gave me a high 5. On the
other side of the track was my family cheering me on – woo!! Joey and I took the final ¾ lap around the
track and I finished strong.
 |
| *cheers* |
We gathered on the hill near the finish with the NCRC and
MTC crowd. It was a great time. We ate some, drank some and cheered folks in
as they finished.
Later on, my family and I went to go get some food at the
Highland games. We sat in the stadium
and watched some of the games. It didn’t
rain on us but it sure looked threatening!
The girls enjoyed watching the dancers.
Drew liked watching the guys throw the telephone pole. It was a fun place to people watch as well –
lol! O my goodness, lots of interesting folks out
there, right Margo? ;)
After a bit we ended up catching the shuttle down the
mountain – seated, unlike Joey, Jenn and Gene who had to stand on their ride
when the left earlier – boo! It was a
long ride and I was not feelin so good.
I had pintos n cornbread at the games, the pintos were good, but the
fatback that was in it was not - :P Not quite
how I make them at home, that is for sure! Lunch was not sitting well and I also felt like I was getting a bit ‘bus
sick’ from the curvy mountain roads. o_o
We got to the Jeep and got on the road to Linville
falls. Somewhere along the parkway I
told Andy to pull over – I was not feelin good.
:s A few dry heaves later I was
back in the Jeep. Little bit of
carsick… Managed to travel the rest of
the way with the window down for air…
We got to the campground and I got cleaned up (best-shower-ever)
I think I say that after every race – lol!
Best thing about this one? I
didn’t chafe!! :D
Later on we went out for dinner and settled in for the
night. About 8:00 it started
raining. It kept raining all night
long. Not just a sprinkle either. It poured all night long. I slept maybe an hour and a half. It was so loud on the roof of the camper…
We packed up the next morning in the pouring rain and left
in the rain. The rain didn’t stop until
I hit I40. Later I learned that they had
to cancel Sunday’s Highland Games because of the weather.
This was a great race.
I dare say it was the toughest marathon I have run. Bethel Hill Midnight Boogie a close second
which has its own reasons for being tough.
New River was tough but at least there were downhills to fly down. This race was indeed a climb. Would I run it again? Yes. I need to – there is a picture that still
needs to be taken by a gate at mile 10. ;) I would also like to improve
my time by at least 35 min. Proper fueling,
getting more sleep, and keeping my mileage up would have helped greatly. Running it while recovering was probably not
the best idea, but when has anyone ever told me that I do a lot of wise things
when it comes to running and racin? Lol!
Ya know its all who I hang out with, right?
Who was it that was telling me that Boogie would be a great first 50
miler? Yep, and I still run with him every week. Bring
it on.
Til the next race, *cheers*
Shoes – Hoka Bondi B’s with Feetures socks. No compression socks today!
Kilt – made by Sportkilt
Watch – Garmin 305 (refurb June 2013)
Fuel – 10 s caps, gummy bears, 2 hammergels, 1 5 hour
energy, Gatorade and water
Damage? – One fairly
big blister on one of my toes. No chafe
tho!
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