Days 598-600: B-Day Race - Iron Moutain 16 Mile Trail Race Re-Cap

It's my birthday I can run if I want to, Ruuuuuun if I want to, Runnnnnnnn if I want to. :)


It should be no surprise to anyone who knows me and/or reads this blog that I love running and every year I run on my birthday. But this year I wanted to step it up a notch; I wanted to do a race. And not just any race. I wanted it to be a trail race and I was looking for something unique. Then I found the Iron Mountain 16 Mile Trail Race and really, with a name like that, did you expect me to pass it up? Of course not. The course began and ended in Damascus, VA (southern southern, deep south VA) and covered an out an back loop over 16 miles and change and had about 4000 ft elevation gain/loss. I knew it would be a very hard race, but it's my birthday and I'll run if I want to. :)


So here it is, the Iron Mountain 16 Mile Trail Race Re-cap:

So I drove down from DC on Friday and it took forever. Forever being about 7 hours. On the bright side, I-81 south is the route I always used to take to drive down to the college where I did 3/4s of my undergraduate studies. So I know the road, the stops, and I really enjoy the beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's funny because as it turns out this race was located only an hour and 1/2 away from my old school's campus. What's even funnier was I met another alum while running, but I'll get to that later. So I got into town, picked up my race bib (#137), ate dinner (a cheeseburger and fries from the famous Dot's Inn - Note: I have not been consistent with my pre-race meals since my boyfriend and I's first date the night before the Columbia MD 1/2 Marathon in 2010), and prepped the tent (it's this HUGE tent house with like 4 rooms so all 5 of us fit). Yes, 5 of us; I managed to convince 4 friends to come with me and also run in this birthday adventure. Yeay for like-minded running buddies! :) So after getting the tent all set up, I got all of my stuff ready for the next day and laid it all out on the front seat in my truck so that everything was ready to go in the morning. Then I fell asleep pretty quickly, because I was exhausted from all the driving and plus, I sleep better out in the country.

I woke up the next morning at 4am. 4 A.M.!!! I was annoyed that my body decided that it needed to be up that early, but it's whatever. My body has its quirks, one of which is waking up 2 hours earlier than whatever the discussed wake up time is on race day. So I laid in my sleeping bag and pulled on my USMC sweater and looked at all the stars from the mesh netting on top of my "room" of the tent for a long while. Finally around 5am, I got up and went to go sit in the truck and mentally prep for the race. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect, but I knew that I was gonna do my best so I wanted to get in that frame of mind. So I sat wrapped in a blanket, eating my Frosted Flakes cereal, hydrating on some H2O and Gatorade, and thought about why I run. Then finally everyone else started waking up, and we took turns changing in the tent for privacy. I chose to wear my Adidas racing flats because they have been my long run shoe for a long time and I thought it'd best to go with what you know/love. I wore a thicker pair of socks so that my feet had extra cushioning. For shorts, I wore this pair of Nike racing shorts that I like for long runs, but hadn't yet raced in. Somehow though I knew they'd be fine. For my shirt, I wore the North Face racing top that my boyfriend bought me, as both a reminder of his support and a way to channel his strength. Plus, I knew it would bring me good luck. Then I wrapped up my left ankle with kinetic tape hoping it wouldn't give me any trouble, packed my CamelBak full of fluids (obviously) - Gatorade and H2O mix- and stashed my ID, insurance card  (can never be too careful right?), my phone, and a packet of Cherry Blossom Honey Stinger Chews (SO yum) in the pocket. Before I knew it, it was time to head over to the race start. We all had to check in also. In ultras, there is a massive emphasis on checking in, because they want to make sure they don't loose folks out on the trail. You also check in at each aid station. Anyway, we got the the start and checked in and then hung out, stretching and pinning on our bibs (What, what #137!?!) before the 7 am start. 

The Crew

As the start time neared, I began to get a little nervous. I always get just a little nervous right before a race. So as the race director yelled out the last of the last minute instructions and such, everyone (about 150 people total for all 3 distances - 16, 30, 50 mile) lined up on the concrete behind the Iron Mountain Trail Race sign. Then the fog horn went off and you could hear about 150 Garmin/GPS watches make the little beep beep noise starting the timers. I laughed at this and did the same, clicking my buttons and running off after everyone else. I ran with my friend Abi for a bit because she runs at about my speed and I didn't want to to try to run ridiculously fast to start out. I knew I'd need that energy for the 4000ft upwards climb later (aka at mile 5.2). So I stayed with Abi for about 3 or 4 miles and then she decided to walk, so I wished her the best of luck and kept going. Over the next mile or so, I kept great pace - about 10 minute miles on dirt trail with a slight incline. It wasn't too lonely running along alone without music. I expected it to suck, but it was okay, nice even. I didn't get a chance to look around too much, but I did at one point over this bridge and saw a really sweet climbing area. But alas this was a race, not a run-to-climb adventure (though how much fun would that be!?!).  

Abi and I (white shirt) at the beginning of the race

Then all of a sudden there was the 5 mile aid station, which was just some water and Gatorade and people checking my bib number. "#137!!" I yelled out as I went through. But I did take a minute to thank the race volunteers who were clapping, offereing water, and pointing where to go next. Always thank race volunteers, those people are amazing. Then immediately you start up the switch-backs climbing 4000ft. It was like climbing, rocky rooty stairs up for 3 miles. I have never had to work so damn hard in my life. But I ran every chance I could (any of the flat parts even if just for a little bit) without feeling like my lungs were tearing to shreds. I knew my time would be slow regardless, so I just wanted to finish without any *serious* injury.
 

Climbing up 4000ft of switchbacks, but always smiling. :)



Tired and sweaty from climbing/running!

Then during this one section of straight uphill (I should mention that when the uphill starts, EVERYONE including the dudes trying to win, WALK uphill. So I didn't feel like such a big wuss having to walk up the hills), this girl who I had passed earlier ended up right on my tail, but instead of trying to pass me, she started chatting with me. I was so thrown off by this at first. Then it occurred to me 'hey ding dong, this isn't a road race, people who do these events are super friendly.' It was awesome! So her name was Andrea or Andy, and she was super nice. We ran/walk/climbed together for about an hour, and let me tell you it was so great to have someone with me at that point distracting me from the tiredness, achy lungs, and the distance I still had to cover. We had a great rambling conversation covering colleges, jobs, life, boyfriends (her's was running the race as well), and of course, running. At one point this other woman was running just behind us and hoped into our conversation and it turned out that she (this is the other woman who's name I didn't catch) was living in VT, but she said she flew into Asheville, NC and drove up with some friends. Without even thinking about it I go, 'Asheville!?! I went to school there: Warren Wilson College!" and she says, "Me too!!!" Turns out she graduated in 1999 and is friends with several people who teach/work there now (most of whom I studied under/know of/worked with). How crazy is that!?! It is so great that you can connect with random strangers and yet have so much in common. :) Also, at this point of the trail we started to see people coming back from the turn around at Mile 9. This was really cool because I got to see the three guys in our group and gave them high fives. It was also kind of scary because everyone coming back was moving pretty quick and the trail was single track with a mountainous wall on one side and a very steep slope hundreds of feet down on the other side. But luckily no one fell. 

Thanks to Andy, before I knew it we were at the second aid station and turn around point for the 16 mile runners. I did the call-and-response check in with the bib numbers and headed over to get more Gatorade in my hand-held bottle. Turns out they didn't have any lemon-lime Gatorade at this aid station, so I had the choice of water only or red/blue Gatorade mixed with water. So banking on the fact that I knew I'd need more electrolytes I went with the red Gatorade/water mix, and hoped it wouldn’t bother my stomach, switching up the tastes. Then I headed over to the "food" table. Now if there was only one reason that I could give you to convince you why trail/ultra running is better than all other forms of competitive sport: it is the FOOD!!! Oh man, there was this HUGE table and on it were bowls of the following: M&Ms, peanut M&Ms, gummy bears, red and green grapes, orange slices, pretzels, chips, 1/4 PB&J sandwiches, 1/4 ham and cheese sandwiches, mountain dew/coke/ginger ale sodas, and probably some other amazing treats that I forgot about. Seriously, I was in heaven. After munching on my chews all morning (and a pathetic attempt to eat my sports beans - let's just say I won’t be taking those on my 50K in Oct), I was so happy to have other flavors and tastes. But what is funny is what your body decides it needs/wants at that point in a race. Granted I was only 9 miles in, but I was feeling pretty beat. I had One single M&M and was like, oh no, can't eat that. I found this really weird because I thought I'd love some M&Ms. But sadly, no. On the bright side I put away 2 handfuls of gummy bears, 4 or 5 of the PB&J ¼ sandwich things, and had a handful of green grapes. I was so hungry, but those were the only things that struck my brain as appealing. So I rolled with it. I’ve decided when to pick my battles with my brain on runs and at that aid station it was allowed whatever it wanted. 

Then we were off again (Andy and I) first walking back up the path that descended to the aid station and then running again once we hit flat ground. While heading back, I saw Abi and gave her a high five and wished her good luck. I was doing okay for about 30 minutes and then my stomach began to rebel. I tried to keep going but I had no choice and had to walk. So I said goodbye to Andy and wished her good luck in the rest of her race. She tried to encourage me to keep running with her, but we still had about 6 miles left to go and I was a bit worried about my stomach. And then I was alone. It was weird to suddenly be all by one’s self. The only noises I heard were the wind in the trees and a bird here and there. I walked for a while, but I was feeling really bad, like alien in my stomach bad. So finally in this sunny spot (see picture below) I just stopped for a few minutes. I took some pictures, ate a few chews, drank the Gatorade, and willed my body to start working properly again. Also let me mention that this is the ONLY time during the race that I became aware of my surroundings and took notice of the beautiful place I was in. I was running along this incredible trail in the Blue Ridge Mountains, everything was crisply green and lush. The sun was shining through the tree cover making beautiful patterns throughout the forest and it was completely silent. I was a good 5 minutes from Andy, the only person in front of me, and I think the next runner was about 10-15 min behind me. Silence. It was wonderful. Finally after the longest 3 minutes of my life, the cramping stopped and I was able to start running again.

The trail



I. Love. Running. <3

On the way out to the Mile 9 turn around, I paid zero attention to the course markers (pink ribbon with black dots), because you are almost always following someone, but on the way back (as I mentioned above) there is not a whole lot of people around so to make sure you stay on course, you need to keep an eye out for the markers every 5 min or so. It's not that the course deviated from the trail a lot or anything, but when you're running alone in the woods, you start to get antsy if you don't see a ribbon for a while, especially if you're looking down at the ground a lot to make sure of secure footing. It was quite stressful. There were several times on the way back when I started to freak out thinking I’d somehow gotten off track and was going the wrong way (I’m not a wack, this happens a lot in ultra racing). I also spent a good deal of time afraid that I was going to be attacked by a wild animal. This isn’t that out of the realm of possibilities, since we found out later that there were 2 bears and a fox sighted during the race! So that, plus the fact that I run faster when I'm nervous, had me cruising along the next couple of miles pretty fast. Then finally I hit the fork in the course, where on the way out you came from the right, but on the way back you have to go left. It's marked by 5 gallon-sized jugs of Gatorade. So I filled up with Red (of course Now there was lemon-lime, but by then I didn't want to try another taste switch) and continued along the left fork going... UP. 

For the next mile I hiked/ran up and up and up, thinking how the HELL am I still going up!?! Honestly, at this point I was pissed because I was tired and my legs were killing me, my feet hurt a ton, and my shins were burning. The last thing I wanted to do was continue climbing up the never ending mountain. Although, on a few of my walk breaks I got to see through the trees down the mountain side and it was quite beautiful. Finally though the uphill climb ended. But, because life and racing is never easy, as I started the 4000ft descent, I realized I was descending was from 4000ft to sea level in just over 1 mile. I cannot even begin to explain to you just how friggin steep this downhill portion was. And to top it off, the ENTIRE path (which was like 6+ feet wide) was covered with loose, and rather decently sized, rocks. So as soon as you got some speed, you would be slipping on the rocks and go crashing to the ground. I slipped on the rocks only once and was like, ‘Screw this; broken limbs is not worth a time goal.’ So that one mile, which if it was just dirt and roots or even just not loose rocks, I could have completed in like 9 minutes or less took me almost 20 minutes to navigate down without getting hurt. Though while I was going downhill I was convinced I heard a swarm of bees chasing after me. When I conferred about this with my friends after the race, I found out that no one else at all heard this swarm of bees. Now looking back on it, I am pretty sure I was having an auditory hallucination of bees. At the last part of downhill, I thought, ‘Ah screw this, I'm almost at the bottom, I’m gonna try to run it,’ So I began leaping and bounding over the loose rocks, feeling my ankles roll again and again. Then my left big toe caught this huge rock (the size of your hand, fingers spread out) and the thing slams back onto the top of my right foot as it’s following forward through a stride, and then I am watching (like in slow motion) as it flies up through the air and crashes down into my right ankle. Blood and immediate bruising resulted. :(


The damage to my right ankle, doesn't look that bad, but it hurt/was bruised for 2 weeks.

After that (and now with less than 2 miles to go) the trail ended abruptly; spilling out onto a random townie back road. And I could see from the ribbons strung up on trees down the street that I was going to be running on asphalt for a while. This transition of tip-toeing over loose rock to pounding the asphalt was really rough for me. My knees felt shaky and weak and I was still so frustrated at all the time I lost on that downhill. But I knew I was closing in on the finish, so I basically sprinted, giving everything I had for that last bit. Got stuck for 4 minutes waiting to be able to cross a road and then ran back onto the trail, over and bridge, and sprinted to the finish line. I finished, according to my clock, in 3 hours and 42 minutes. The race director's time had me at 3:46. But I'm taking my time over theirs. The finish line was the quietest finish line I've EVER been at. The only people clapping were the guys of our group, who'd finished about an hour and change before me. It was kind of awkward, because I was running so hard to the finish and then you cross under the banner and it was like, ‘okay, you're done.’ So anti-climactic, they really could have done a better job of cheering at the end (the other participants, runners who’d finished, and race officials) and making your feel more excited about your finish. But that is life. On the bright side, according to the results posted: http://sites.google.com/site/ironmountaintrailrun/results-race/2011-results-reports-pictures/2011-imtr-16-mile-results, I was the youngest runner and therefore won the zero-25 age group. :) Also I was the 11th woman. Considering that 11 is my favorite number I was really really happy with this. :)

After the crossing the finish line I was immediately directed to go "sit in the creek" to cool down, so I went over to the water, slowly peeled off my shoes and socks, and gingerly made my way into the very cold creek. Ordinarily, I would have just found a rock to sit on and made sure my knees and ankles were under water. But today was special, so I sat right down in the water so that I was waist deep in the creek. The cold water was very refreshing for my tired legs so I stayed there for 20 minutes cooling down. I used that time to send some texts that I finished the race and was alive and watched some little fish nibble at my legs. I have to admit that I felt pretty decent. I was excited about my finish time (coming in under 4 hours was my personal goal that I didn't tell anyone about but secretly hoped for) and that I wasn't in too much pain. It turned out to be a great race and a beautiful day. 

After the last of our group came in, we all hung out for an hour or so and decompressed before heading back to the cars and attempted to swim in the creek (fail, we saw a snake), have a mini-birthday celebration, pack the cars up, and then go get lunch/dinner. Linner or Dunch. Anyway, it was definitely a cool experience, and this race helped solidify for me that I love this kind of racing and that ultras is definitely the right route for me as a runner. However, I don't know if I'd do this specific race again next year. Mostly because driving 7 hours for a race now seems ludicrous. Even though I will be going basically to the same place for the 50K in a month. Haha! Well anyway around it, the race was fun for sure.


Happy Birthday to me! (Please note that my friends are incredibly clever in that they couldn’t bring cake to a race in the mountains, but they could bring a "Carrot Cake" Clif Bar. :) You guys rock!



The elevation profiles of each race on the T-shirt.

Happy Trails Y'all! :)