I prefer to eat my Peanut Butter, not run in it

I have the perfect recipe for Peanut Butter!! 

Third run in my new Saucony Peregrine 10s.

Ingredients

• Water - two days worth should suffice
• Binder - 12.4 miles of dirt, root, & rock style trails (preferably in an area that has clay soil)
• Blender - roughly 400 trail runners (amount may vary based on ingredient #1)

Instructions: Add water to the binder ingredient before adding the final ingredient and let rest overnight. This gives the binder and water time to really set in for a more moist product. Then simply add the final ingredient over the span of 4.5 - 8 hours allowing the peanut butter mixture to really take shape, work out any chunks (we're looking for a smooth and not chunky consistency), and provide a well-mixed final product.

I think they need to rename the race from Rocks & Roots Ultra 50k to Peanut Butter & Brownie Batter Ultra 50k, but I am getting ahead of myself. The course is at Alum Creek State Park near Columbus, Ohio and consists of a North and South loop each having a 10k distance. The first time I had ever run the trails was the day before as a bit of a leg opener and recon run. It's flat compared to the trails in the Cuyahoga National Park (where I live) and not technical at all. This translates to being on the throttle all day with little to no opportunity to recover. There are multiple stream crossings and depending on the amount of recent rain, one could easily call them rivers (not sure when a stream shifts to being called a river). Due to having two-days of rain prior to the race, I would classify these mostly as rivers but there were some smaller streams that would still give everyone an opportunity for a good foot soaking unless one was to methodically figure how to cross over in a rather futile attempt to keep their feet and shoes dry. There were only a handful of short climbs, really short, sans the one steep muddy mess where a well-placed rope was attached to a tree where you had to hoist your butt up to the top. If the rope had not been there, it would have made for a very comical scene because the climb was a very slick muddy slip and slide to the top.

The start of the 50k, 40k, and 30k races.

Before the race, I was informed by a few people that the North loop generally drains better and that the South loop would be a pit of despair. Whelp ... not the case on race day. I looked forward to the South loop because I would say that for the most part, it was solid ... mostly. The South loop did have its fair share of mud not to mention two sizable river crossings, aka shoe washes, so if the mud didn't get your feet wet, then the rivers were going to take care of that for sure. Funny(ish) story about the second river crossing on the South loop. The trail builders were kind enough to provide some very well placed steps, ie cut up pieces of a tree that one could hop across the river and keep your feet nice and dry. Ideally. This worked great as long as the water was at a normal level. Due to all of the recent rains over the past two days, you could barely make out the logs under the flowing river but you could make them out ... slightly. Both times I crossed this section (cuz if you figured it out I only had to run the South loop twice) I made it 2/3 of the way, albeit not dry cuz there was still a couple of inches of water flowing over the top of the logs, and the last log or two were just not quite visible to these aging eyes and yes ... both times I missed the second to last log and in I went. DOH!! It wasn't a full body soaking but certainly much more than I would have liked. Whatever ... the temps were high 30's and after about a 1/2 mile I didn't even notice my soaked shoes and feet. The bonus to the water crossings is that it would clear the mud from my shoes, #winning #nonotreally

One of the smaller shoe washes.

Throughout the race, it was tough to tell where I was in the pecking order. One big reason for that is because they launched the 50ks, 40ks, and 30ks at the same time. I never really knew until the very end who was in the 50k, so I just raced my own race and didn't worry about anyone else. You could start to get a sense by either chatting with folks or by seeing them now and then still on the course, but by the time I got to the last loop, there was really no one that I could see in front of me and no one coming up behind me, aka limbo-land. Some point along the second lap of the North loop a runner came up behind me. I recognized his shirt and must have passed him at the start/finish line as he likely was refueling. Nice guy and just hopped in behind me and started to run at my pace. I was starting to get one of those "darker places" where one starts to question one's life decisions ... or maybe I just wanted to run at my own pace at that particular point and didn't want to be pushing harder than I wanted. Regardless, I piped up and kindly said he was fine to go around and I would step aside. Nice guy and he said nope, your pace is fine. I am sure I said something along the lines of "I'm just going to slow you up". A few minutes pass and at this particular moment I just didn't want anyone around me, so I stepped aside and waved him on. He was very courteous and as his response was to say that he was comfortable at my pace. I thanked him and said I just feel better right now if I let him go ahead of me and not slow him up. It was all good and only kind words were exchanged and as I expected ... he left me like a fart at a party. I knew his pace was just faster than I wanted to go and as even he stated, there was still a solid 19-20 miles left in the race. Many times I prefer to live in my own head. Maybe that is a side-effect so much solo training over the years. In hindsight, I should have taken it as an opportunity to get to know a fellow trail runner, have a nice chat about pretty much anything, and learn to disconnect from "the race" if only for a few minutes. I'm kicking myself a bit for not having this thought at the time. Lesson learned an area of improvement for me I suppose. 

This is one reason why I love trail runners!!

Do you want to run with Batman? LMAO ... sure cuz that'd be pretty darn cool. Whelp ... I did run with Batman for a short bit. This trail runner ran the race in a Batman mask the entire race, playing music out of some portable speaker along the way. It was an awesome sight. He passed me early on sometime around the first loop and then, later on, I earned that spot back on the second round of the North loop and figured I would see him again at some point, perhaps using his utility belt to pull out a few tricks. Yes, he wore a utility belt. You just can't make this stuff up. He was cool, we said a few words and he looked strong but I did not see him again after I passed him. I love the people you see and get to chat with along these adventures. While I certainly have my moments of entering dark places and wanting to be alone, its moments like this that put a smile on my face, remind me why I am out on these types of adventures and it makes the miles much more enjoyable. Rock on Batman!!

Throughout the race, I was keeping track of my laps by hitting my lap button between each loop. I could tell that the mud was having an impact on my body by the fact that my lap times were getting slower. Not by a huge amount, but definitely slower. Behind both of my knees started to ache so I tried my best to control the achiness by varying my stride length and walking a few of the muddier sections. This turned into some forced walking since I am not skilled enough to get traction in the muck and because the mud was sticking to the shoes so much that I could not only hear that classic sucking sound as I pulled up each foot in a sad attempt to continue moving forward but mostly because my shoes just felt like I had strapped on full plate armor to my feet. My poor aching feet. I honestly looked forward to hitting the river crossings as a way to clear out my shoes. It did help but many times it was short-lived. I kept telling myself that as long as I finish the second South loop I only had one more to go so I did my best to control the discomfort and work my way to the last lap.

As I got to the final lap I knew I could run the final 10k, crawling if I had to but I would complete it. 50ks are hard, but in these conditions, they really take a big toll on the body. Remember, the North loop is the muddier of the two, so this was all about controlling the slipping and sliding and managing the pain. When I had made it halfway around the last North loop I decided to try and work harder thru the muddy sections in the hopes that I could make up some lost time. My thought is that my body was feeling ok, no IT Band issues and pain behind my knees had subsided, and why not use this as an opportunity to do some skills work in the mud. I focused on running straight through the center instead of trying to run along the sides since inevitably I would end up in the center anyway and continue to cause my body to try and compensate due to all the sliding around. That seemed to work well and so I ran more of the mud sections than I had on the previous loop. It was still slow, but I felt like I had learned a few things along this final section leading to the finish line

Closing in on the finish line.

Finally got around to the final 1/2 mile mark which is a road crossing followed by a couple of minor ups and downs and was not terribly muddy, yet still slick. One final shoe soaking and one final mud-fest leading to the end of a long race. I finished in just a bit over 5:30 flat. Not terrible given the conditions and hey ... I was still in one piece and I never did a full face-plant anywhere on the course. It's the small things that ya have to appreciate.

I was handed my finisher award, chucked down some ramen noodle soup in a cup (darn tasty), a couple of small oatmeal cookies, a grilled cheese sandwich (sans the butter and made by a 13-year old volunteer with it being his first-ever grilled cheese sandwich ... he's a pro ... it was awesome) and then took about 30-minutes to peel off the layers of muddy clothes and change into something that made me resemble a human again.

Happy to say that I didn't do too terrible in the overall standings, this being the first of a two-race series. I learned more about running in less than ideal conditions, my body continues to get stronger the more I race in these conditions, my mind strengthens in knowing that I can handle and tolerate these conditions, and frankly I had a blast getting to run with like-minded folks. Overall ... it was a good day.

If you want to see how the winner of the 50k entered and exited one of the two deep water crossings on the South loop ... take note, he pummeled the field. #happytrails

Entered like a Boss!!

Exit like a Boss!!