Made it back from Grand Rivers, KY (7.5hr drive). I had the option for this race to move up to the 50M event and told the RD that I might entertain that thought depending how the day goes. All runners had the option of moving up a race or down.
When my friend Brett aka kickrunner senator Brett and I arrived in Grand Rivers, KY (population 350), it was a cool afternoon with cloudy skies. Perfect running weather if it decided not to rain. I brought mention to the population of the town because there were actually 386 runners signed up to run the 23K, Marathon, 60K and 50M. Probably helped the economy out quite a bit. We made our way to the packet pickup in this small lake town surrounded by Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Of which the trail we'd be running would give us great views of both lakes. On a clear day of course.
My only real goal for this event was to get a good training run in that was longer than a 50K, but shorter than a 50M leading up to Bull Run Run 50M in April. Training had gone well to this point. The two prior weekends I had done back2back longish runs and felt coming off Crusty 50K I was ready for this next challenge. Finish time really didn't matter as long as I had fun and didn't get hurt.
On Friday heading down to LBL, Brett and I stopped off in Champaign, IL for a quick 30 Minute run along this bike path to loosen up the legs and then we got a quick bite to eat at one of my favorite haunts; Cracker Barrel.
Course Overviews: (Canal Loop Map)
The course starts at Lighthouse Landing, with the first 1.7 miles run on paved roads to the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, where the trail begins. This section should allow for separation of participants before entering the trail. The Canal Loop trail (designated by blue markers on trees), is a scenic, well groomed 11.3 mile loop on mostly single-track between Kentucky and Barkley Lakes; offering many breathtaking views of the lakes, and several short challenging hills.
Elevation change: has been measured at 1119' for the 23km; 2068' for the marathon, 3017' for the 60k, and 3966' for the 50 mile.
Standing Post Race at the LBL Rec Area:
So, after picking up our packets, Brett and I headed back to the Super8 in Calvert City, KY. A short drive away. And then after relaxing awhile from the longgg drive down, we headed back into Grand Rivers and ate our prerace meal at Patti's Restaurant. A little salty$$, but the food was great. After that we looked around town a bit and headed back to the hotel for the night to get our drop bags ready. Race day temps were calling for rain/wind/upper 30s. Well, ok then! My first thought was shorts, of which I had ready to wear in the morning along with a longsleeve, hat, gloves and raincoat(or black garbage bag). I was ready to go.
Race Morning: The weather station didn't lie. It was pouring down fairly hard and had most of the night. As we headed out the door, I told Brett that I may be switching to tights. So, when we arrived to park in Grand Rivers, I quickly switched out of my shorts to tights, as did he. Smart move in my opinion. Probably could have got away with shorts for the 23K race, but then again you'd only be out there for 1 loop of the course. We headed up to the community center (laid down our drop bags) where most runners were chatting it up, staying dry, before heading down to the start line. All of a sudden, with 10 minutes to go, one of the volunteers gets on the horn and tells us that we need to start heading toward the start line.
And we were off at 7:00AM. Daylight was about to break as we headed on the road section toward the trail. Brett and I started off the front for fun, but I knew I wanted no part of going out fast. Must have been a couple hundred runners in front of me making their way up the road. I was really enjoying myself, taking it easy as the rain came down. I also didn't want there to be a log jam at the trailhead when we arrived for the start of the first loop.
Just as we arrived to hit the trail there was the first aidstation. Brett and I didn't bother to stop as I had only taken a couple sips off my handheld and had plenty of goodies in my waist pack. Brett and I stayed together for about 1/2 of this first loop, when I decided to take off. Aside from the mud and rain, I was really liking this course layout. Early on it had some small hills and rollers, but nothing that was steap at all in my opinion. I was making my way on the single track, hauling up behind a runner here and there looking for places to pass when I could. I probably passed 50 runners on that first loop, but kept my heartrate in check and didn't waste alot of energy. I walked when I had to and didn't really try to keep up with anyone who decided to pass me. Again, it was still raining fairly hard as I made my way along one of the lakes. I took a glance through the fog along the lake and could only imagine what it must look like on a clear day. I also new that the 2nd, 3rd and maybe 4th loop(if I decided to switch to the 50M), would be down right muddy and slick. The aidstations were spaced out accordingly along the loop, about every 3-4 miles which worked out great. I ended the first loop with the road section included in 2:06 and feeling great.
The start of the 2nd loop, I wasted no time at the aidstation and was quickly off. I had picked up the pace now that I knew the trail a little. And just like that the trail turned to a muddy, slick mess. The footing wasn't all that bad as I took advantage of the side of the trail from time to time for better footing among the leaves. Of course, on a singletrack trail you can only do so much of that. My energy level was way up. Must have been the Red Bull I drank prerace (tradition) because I was on top of my game. The trail got muddier and muddier as the rain continued to fall. I never did get cold as the garbage bag I wore kept me warm. About mid way through the loop I decided to discard the bag after a very short pitstop in the woods. Finished the 2nd loop in 1:48(3:55 cumulative time), filled up and quickly headed out of the aidstation on the 3rd loop.
The 3rd loop brought alot more mud. The post race pic with Brett standing in his shoes and mine beside don't really tell the whole store.
The footing got downright nasty as I began to really work my quads and hips more. I found myself getting more tired than I wanted at this point. As I made my way through the loop, I'd make my way up to a runner or two and we'd chat awhile about how nasty the mud really was on this loop. It was like soup on some sections. The good thing is that I never did fall. I still felt ok during this loop and was still entertaining the thought of running the full 50M, but as I exited to the last aidstation, I gave that thought up and headed back on the road toward the finish.
The road section was fairly tough going back and it really wasn't all that bad. I suppose it was the fact that I was caked in mud, wet, tired and simply
a mess. I made my way back into Grand Rivers and could see the clock with about 600 yards to go. Other than the end of each loop, I hadn't really paid much attention to my watch and came into the finish in roughly (6:10:23). Finishing the 3rd loop in 2:12. I was pleased because I had run this 60K at nearly the identical pace that I had through the snow at Crusty 50K (5:07) in early February. Training was paying off.
I quickly changed out of "all that was mud" and got into warmer clothes. I made my way to the community center for some soup, not knowing when Brett might make his way in and chatted up a few runners including fellow kickrunner, niemsco(Scott). Also out on the course were kickrunners cgerber(Chris) and the The Professor(?), who were indeed running the 50M. I had the opportunity to meet Chris as he finished his race after a tough day on the trail.
I will definitely make the long drive back to Grand Rivers, KY in 2010 and tackle this race again. And possibly the 50M version. Another adventure completed. Now onto the next challenge.
So, after picking up our packets, Brett and I headed back to the Super8 in Calvert City, KY. A short drive away. And then after relaxing awhile from the longgg drive down, we headed back into Grand Rivers and ate our prerace meal at Patti's Restaurant. A little salty$$, but the food was great. After that we looked around town a bit and headed back to the hotel for the night to get our drop bags ready. Race day temps were calling for rain/wind/upper 30s. Well, ok then! My first thought was shorts, of which I had ready to wear in the morning along with a longsleeve, hat, gloves and raincoat(or black garbage bag). I was ready to go.
Race Morning: The weather station didn't lie. It was pouring down fairly hard and had most of the night. As we headed out the door, I told Brett that I may be switching to tights. So, when we arrived to park in Grand Rivers, I quickly switched out of my shorts to tights, as did he. Smart move in my opinion. Probably could have got away with shorts for the 23K race, but then again you'd only be out there for 1 loop of the course. We headed up to the community center (laid down our drop bags) where most runners were chatting it up, staying dry, before heading down to the start line. All of a sudden, with 10 minutes to go, one of the volunteers gets on the horn and tells us that we need to start heading toward the start line.
And we were off at 7:00AM. Daylight was about to break as we headed on the road section toward the trail. Brett and I started off the front for fun, but I knew I wanted no part of going out fast. Must have been a couple hundred runners in front of me making their way up the road. I was really enjoying myself, taking it easy as the rain came down. I also didn't want there to be a log jam at the trailhead when we arrived for the start of the first loop.
Just as we arrived to hit the trail there was the first aidstation. Brett and I didn't bother to stop as I had only taken a couple sips off my handheld and had plenty of goodies in my waist pack. Brett and I stayed together for about 1/2 of this first loop, when I decided to take off. Aside from the mud and rain, I was really liking this course layout. Early on it had some small hills and rollers, but nothing that was steap at all in my opinion. I was making my way on the single track, hauling up behind a runner here and there looking for places to pass when I could. I probably passed 50 runners on that first loop, but kept my heartrate in check and didn't waste alot of energy. I walked when I had to and didn't really try to keep up with anyone who decided to pass me. Again, it was still raining fairly hard as I made my way along one of the lakes. I took a glance through the fog along the lake and could only imagine what it must look like on a clear day. I also new that the 2nd, 3rd and maybe 4th loop(if I decided to switch to the 50M), would be down right muddy and slick. The aidstations were spaced out accordingly along the loop, about every 3-4 miles which worked out great. I ended the first loop with the road section included in 2:06 and feeling great.
The start of the 2nd loop, I wasted no time at the aidstation and was quickly off. I had picked up the pace now that I knew the trail a little. And just like that the trail turned to a muddy, slick mess. The footing wasn't all that bad as I took advantage of the side of the trail from time to time for better footing among the leaves. Of course, on a singletrack trail you can only do so much of that. My energy level was way up. Must have been the Red Bull I drank prerace (tradition) because I was on top of my game. The trail got muddier and muddier as the rain continued to fall. I never did get cold as the garbage bag I wore kept me warm. About mid way through the loop I decided to discard the bag after a very short pitstop in the woods. Finished the 2nd loop in 1:48(3:55 cumulative time), filled up and quickly headed out of the aidstation on the 3rd loop.
The 3rd loop brought alot more mud. The post race pic with Brett standing in his shoes and mine beside don't really tell the whole store.
The footing got downright nasty as I began to really work my quads and hips more. I found myself getting more tired than I wanted at this point. As I made my way through the loop, I'd make my way up to a runner or two and we'd chat awhile about how nasty the mud really was on this loop. It was like soup on some sections. The good thing is that I never did fall. I still felt ok during this loop and was still entertaining the thought of running the full 50M, but as I exited to the last aidstation, I gave that thought up and headed back on the road toward the finish.
The road section was fairly tough going back and it really wasn't all that bad. I suppose it was the fact that I was caked in mud, wet, tired and simply
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