Race Recap: Thrill in the Hills Trail 1/2 Marathon

Better, but still not great...

The Thrill in the Hills 1/2 Marathon marked the sixth race in the 2014/15 XTERRA Georgia Trail series and the first of three races in the series to be held in 2015. This race is held at one of my favorite spots to run and ride, Ft. Yargo State Park in Winder, GA. The course has changed a couple times over the last few years but the 2015 version was the exact same as the 2014 course. Unfortunately for me, my 2015 fitness and my 2014 fitness at this time of the year are markedly different. 

The race begins at the main mountain bike parking lot and starts with about 3/4 of a mile on the road to stretch out the field before dipping into the woods for 12+ miles of single and double track. For the most part the course follows the park's outer loop mountain bike trail (seen below in blue). The only deviation from the out loop comes when you reach the western end of the dam. At that point the course hugs the lake shore on the inner, yellow loop until you reach the six mile mark. Then you climb up a powerline trail and re-join the outer loop for the remainder of the race. This is done to avoid the "Monster Mile", which is no fun to run as it's got a bunch of steep U shaped drops designed for mountain bikers.

The race starts and finishes at the mountain bike trail head marked with the star.

The course is challenging because of it's constant elevation changes. It gains 1,200 feet, which doesn't sound bad but it's a lot of short punchy climbs with a couple of longer sustained climbs mixed in. Saw tooth is how I would describe it. After re-joining the outer loop there is a nice long descent then you are back in the hills for the final five miles.

The elevation profile from RD Tim Schroer

Going into this race, I figured I'd be able to run somewhere under 1:28, which is around what I ran for second on a super muddy course two years ago, but not much faster than 1:25, which is what I ran last year after starting slow and dropping a great last 5K. My expectations were definitely tempered since I've been working to correct my hamstring issues and the longest run I'd done in the two weeks leading up to the race was seven miles. I gave some thought to skipping the race after spending three days in Indianapolis for work earlier in the week, but I figured it would be a good long run at a faster tempo and whatever I finished I would pad my lead in the overall point standings.

My gear for the race:
Singlet: Wild Endurance
Shorts: Saucony 7in (fat kid shorts till I'm in better shape)
Socks: Darn Tough no show merino wool
Shoes: Scott Trail Rocket 2.0
Fuel: Untapped Maple

At the start of the race, I settled into a comfortable rhythm letting Jesse Rappole and one other guy go hoping that I'd be able to snag the third and final spot on the podium. I hadn't seen Jesse in a while, but the way the race started I knew he was in good shape and would chase down the kid that blasted the road section. Last years race started exactly the same way and I was eventually able to move into second in the final 5K. That wouldn't be the case for me this year, but it's what I kept telling myself early on.

I focused on staying in a rhythm and running the course, rolling the downhills and flats while surviving the climbs and not losing that rhythm on the climbs. Things were going pretty good early in the race. The two leaders were gone, but I was running comfortably in third. I got through Three Step Hill (the first named climb, even though it's rolling and has no net elevation gain) and was feeling okay, not fast but I felt like I could hold the pace. By four miles it was clear the runner behind me, Evan Dare, was going to catch me. When he did I tried to stick with him, but given my hamstring issues I didn't have the ability to change gears and stay with him as we climbed up to the dam just after five miles.

At that point, I knew I was going to be in no man's land the rest of the race, except for when I was passing marathoners (the marathon starts 30 minutes before the 1/2), but I still held onto a sliver of hope that I'd catch someone that blew up later in the race. Things took a turn for the worse on the inner loop potion of the course. This section is double track, relatively flat, exceedingly, and runnable. It's one of my favorite sections of this course and really of the trail system in general and when I felt like I couldn't change gears there I knew it was going to be a long second half.

Coming off of the inner loop, I grinded my way up to the top of the race's biggest climb. I used the marathoners to help pull me along and when I reached the top I popped open an Untapped maple syrup packet, but even that sweet delicious nectar of the gods couldn't save me from the sufferfest that was about to ensue.

side note: Untapped is amazing. If you haven't tried it I strongly urge you to. I've tried nearly every GU, PowerGel, ShotBlock, and most of the other energy gels and Untapped maple is the best. It goes down easier since it's just all natural maple syrup and it's easier on my stomach. I couldn't recommend it more. Check it out: Untapped Maple

After the long descent, I was fully on board the struggle bus. I felt like I was having a tough time catching the marathoners and every step seemed a little harder than the one before. In retrospect, I probably should have had the maple shot a little sooner. I was able to take a few minutes to recover and when we crossed the road at the B entrance with 5K to go I put my head down and tried to grind my way to the finish. The marathoners definitely helped, but I was also lucky that I was out in front of fifth place as much as I was. I don't know that I could have fought anyone off at that point.

I rolled into the finish in fourth at 1:26:49, so about where I figured that I would be. I won the 30-34 age group, but missed the podium for just the third time in a Dirty Spokes/XTERRA race since I moved to Georgia in 2010. That was a little tough to swallow, but I've had to re-adjust my goals and expectations while working on this hamstring issue. Below is my Strava data from the race. My GPS lost a full mile in the woods.


Overall the race was what I expected. I struggled with the distance but still got a good long workout in. Originally, I wanted this to be a good build up race and barometer for River Gorge coming up at the end of March, but the injury has changed things a little bit. I'm still going to run River Gorge, but my revenge plot may not work out as planned. Post race, I got a chance to catch up with Jesse, who had the whole crew out to the race. It's always good to see them. We've built up a good friendly rivalry over the last few years, always pushing and testing each other. I was happy to see him get the win (1:19:12) even if he stomped me harder that he ever has before. He is rolling right now in preparation for the Rock and Roll marathon in Nashville next month. Based on that time, he should be all set for a PR. Jesse also beat the kid that sat on me for seven miles at the last race. He told me the kid tried to do the same thing to him but he was able to drop him after a few miles, so that felt like a moral victory. Despite the fourth place finish, I held onto my overall lead in the points standings and baring disaster, I should be on my way to a third straight XTERRA Georgia title.

After the race I stopped at Barberitos for a much needed burrito then headed home to grab Amanda. With the cold temps in the area we thought it would be fun to go up to Helen and try and see if we could find some frozen waterfalls. Closed roads due to ice and downed trees kept us from the waterfalls but we still got a cool snowy hike in around Unicoi lake and saw some Loon's chilling.

Next up for me is a recovery week with some easy running and work in the weight room. I'm hoping to get a good trail run in up in Chattanooga next weekend, then I'll be heading home to Hoth/New England to spend some time with my family and hopefully get in a little Wild Endurance time with Ferenc and Greg.

Here's the race day video from Dirty Spokes:


As always a huge thanks to Dirty Spokes for all the work they do. Tim and his dad along with Johnny Garner (Outdoor Mafia) did an amazing job clearing the trail of all of the downed trees and limbs from the ice storms that we had earlier in the week. It must have taken them hours to clear the trails. Thank you to YABA, they do a great job maintaining the trails year round. Last but not least, thank you to the Wild Endurance sponsors for helping make this team a reality; La Sportiva, Untapped, Darn Tough, and Julbo USA.

Race Report: XTERRA Georgia Ft. Yargo Trail Race

Last weekend Amanda and I drove out to Winder for the second race of the 2013-14 XTERRA Georgia Trail Series at Ft. Yargo State Park. I was looking forward to this race ever since seeing it announced by Dirty Spokes during the summer. Ft. Yargo is one of my favorite places to run and the course that Tim set up did not disappoint.

 

We got there a little later than I would have liked but our plan to park at the A entrance and walk over to the start at the B entrance worked like a charm. I grabbed my number and exchanged a few pleasantries with all of the usual suspects. Amanda pinned my number on, which has been good luck, but for like the third race in a row she put one of the pins all the way through the jersey, pinning the front to the back. Thanks. I did a short warm up over the first mile or so of the course then talked to Matt McNamara (who I’ve now roped into two of these races) about what the course would be like.

 

The 8.5 mile trail course had a little bit of everything, fast sections of hiking trail and fire roads, twists and turns, up and down, everything. It started out on the inner loop hiking trail with a gradual climb before hugging the lakeshore until we reached the man-made dam. From there we were treated to a wide open flat section that led back into the woods and onto the main mountain bike trail. The first two or 2.5 miles were straight forward and relatively flat, which allowed for some fast racing early on. Once we hit the mountain biking trail things got more technical with more twists, turns and roots. Around the halfway point the course straightened out a bit that again allowed for a faster pace before we started dealing with some late race climbs. Like I said a little bit of everything.

 

Tim did a great job of making the course different from the half/full marathon course while still utilizing the same trails. Big shout out to the YABA (Yargo Area Biking Association) for maintaining a great trail system. Okay, now onto the race.

 

I didn’t see any of the normal front runners milling around the start area, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of the field. Going into this race, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold up the pace that I ran a few weeks before at Harbins for 8+ miles, so I planned to run more conservative and try to use my knowledge of the course to my advantage.

At the start I went right to the front to make sure was clear of any traffic and tried to settle into a fast but relaxed pace. I felt pretty strong early on and ended up building up a good size lead, probably 50 meters or so, but I was running comfortable. Once we hit the first mile marker, I felt like I was running well, but within myself. I tried to use the early part of the course to run in a good rhythm and stretch things out without getting in over my head. When we hit the mountain bike trail I tried to focus on maintaining a good tempo and working the course, running fast in the sections that allowed for it and using some of the other sections to recover.

 

By this point, I was all alone by a good amount, but I never really had a good idea of the kind of gap I had built up. For most of the race I figured it was probably around a minute or two. I’m not sure where that time came from, but I think it was mostly just me telling myself not to relax and to keep racing. I didn’t want to get caught, so I just kept telling myself to keep racing. I had a few spots where I slowed down more than I would have liked, especially late in the race, but it was probably for the best that I didn’t know how big the gap was. That way I just tried to keep pushing. Hopefully that mentality will pay off the next time I am close race.

 

Three races this fall and three wins. From here, I’m going to run the USATF Georgia 15k Championship on Saturday at the Peachtree City Classic then I’m planning to run the remaining XTERRA Georgia trail races before taking a little bit of time off to recharge before ramping back up for the winter and spring. I’m hoping to start working some more biking into my repertoire this year, we’ll see how that goes.

Here is the Strava data for the race:

Race Recap: XTerra Georgia Thrill in the Hill Trail Half Marathon

This was my first ever half marathon and the first time I’ve run an Xterra race. Tim from Dirty Spokes puts on all the Xterra Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama races as well as the Dirty Spokes series and a bunch of other mountain bike and duathlons…as always it was a great event, the course was really well marked and laid out, he smartly has the race start on a short paved loop to thin out the crowd and the post-race atmosphere was great, whether you won or ran three hours. I am a huge fan of all the events he puts on and will definitely continue to run these races in the future. On to the race…

We started out on the road and ran close to a half mile on the road before we headed onto the trails. I wasn’t expecting that but it was good because where I was thinking we would head into the trails would have had us running a really tough first two miles of up and down. At the gun I got out good to make sure I was clear of any traffic and then settled in behind Matt Rivers and the eventual winner David Bell. Matt set the pace for the first quarter or so until we started climbing up the road to the trail entrance. My race plan was to stay upfront but stay conservative for the first couple miles because of all the up and down. I wanted to focus on running the flat and downhill sections, while I just tried to manage the climbs.

Heading into the woods David Bell took the lead with a strong surge, I didn’t respond because I was worried that I would throw my race off by letting him dictate my pace. I decided to hang back and run with Matt Rivers for a while and see if we could work together and catch up to the lead. That didn’t really happen as Matt hung back a little bit and eventually let me go, which turned into me just trying to survive and hang on at the end.

We hit the two-mile mark just before the mountain bike parking lot and knowing that I had a relatively flat and relatively straight mile ahead of me I put in my first surge. This is where I started to pull away from Matt and I ended up closing a good bit on David. We hit three miles and then started to climb up the three step hill, which is a three section, terraced hill that you wind up and down. It was a tough spot but we started catching marathoners (they started 30 minutes before us) so that helped me a little bit as I was able to use the lappers as targets to go catch.

After finishing the three step hill we passed through four miles and came up on the first water stop. The water stop was set up on the far side of the road at one of the only road crossings in the race. As I was turning to come out of the woods I saw a white hatchback car going 35 or 40 miles an hour (a.k.a. flying) down the road and about to blast through the crossing area. Mind you, the area where we crossed the road was marked with a crosswalk, six cones, oh and four people at a table with water coolers who were standing in the road. Apparently this guy missed all of those signs and decided to hammer through. I had to slow up to make sure I didn’t get hit by the car, and I ended up smashing the rear quarter panel to let him know that he almost hit me. I may have thrown a profanity or two his way, I can’t quite remember.

Before we headed home after the race I drove around the park to the spot where this happened to show Amanda. When we turned the corner onto the road there was a speed limit sign that said SPEED LIMIT 7 MPH…yeah seven miles an hour.

After my brush with death, I missed the water because everyone was so confused by what happened. I think everyone thought that I got hit. It actually fired me up and carried me through the next mile from four to five. From four to six miles was actually a lot faster and smoother than I thought it would be. I really felt like I was putting some distance on the guys behind me and running in a really good rhythm. I was also passing a bunch of marathoners at this point so that was a big help as well.

I knew that the second water stop was coming up at the 10k mark, so when I hit six miles I took out the strawberry-banana GU that I had in my back pocket and ate some. This was the first time I’ve taken fuel in a race and blech…that stuff is nasty but it went down pretty easy and after getting some water (I only nearly choked on the water the first time I tried to sip) I continued rolling through the winding section of trail.

Six and seven went by pretty quickly and rather uneventfully. We started to come down hill towards the backside of the dam, which was really, really windy. After heading back into the woods we climbed up to the first section of power line trail, where a completely miserable hill climb waited. The hill wasn’t overly steep but it was a long slog to the top. About three quarters of the way up I caught a glimpse of Bell taking the hard right onto the fire road that led back around the lake. I dug in and grinded my way to the top, knowing that the loop along the lake that was coming up was going to be my best chance to make up ground on him and put more distance on Rivers.

When I got to the top of the hill and made the hard turn on the fire road I took a few strides heading down the hill to try and regroup before I started to pick up the pace. Going into the race I knew this section would be key for me. It was 8 miles into the race and it was a flat, hard packed and straight section of trail. I really focused on working this mile of the race and it went pretty well. My legs were starting to get really beat up from all of the up and down but they responded to my desire to run faster.

After the lake loop, I started the climb back up towards the power lines, which started with a short steep hill that was right at the nine-mile mark. For some reason I thought that nine miles was only going to be the eight-mile mark, so when I saw nine miles on the sign I almost jumped out of my shoes. My excitement was quickly diminished though because after that I came out of the woods and had another long climb up the power lines. This one was brutal. I felt like all of the distance I’d put on the guys behind me was going to evaporate.

Somehow I managed to survive the climb and once back on the trail I tried to recover quickly. After another short climb I passed the 10 mile mark and started a downhill section ran from 10 almost all the way to 11. This was another one of the sections of race that I knew I needed to run well. I really tried to hammer this section to make up for how heinous the previous hill went.

My plan worked well until I got to the bottom of the downhill section right before the climb up deadwood hill. That’s when the wheels really started to come off. I managed the uphill alright but the switch backed downhill was another story. The 11-mile mark came and went and I tried to bear down and just focus on catching the marathon lappers than were in front of me. With about a mile and a half to go my hamstring and hip flexor really started to get tight. There were a couple of spots where I was reduced to hobbling. I put my head down and tried to keep moving my legs, figuring I’d get caught at any moment. At this point I was just hoping I’d put enough distance to hang onto one of the top three spots.

Once I got to 12 miles I took a couple glances back at a few of the corners and I couldn’t see anyone but lappers. I didn’t want to focus too much energy on worrying about what was behind me and see if I could get a solid final mile in and grab second place.

Once I got to the point where I had turned around for my warm up I knew I only had about three minutes or so before the finish and it was downhill, so I sucked it up and brought it home to cross the line in 1:23:45.

It was by no means, blazingly fast but I wanted to get under 1:25 and finish in the top three…mission accomplished. Overall it was a great experience. As my first attempt at a longer distance race (more than the typical 10k anyway) I thought I had a pretty sound plan going into the race and it ended up working out pretty well. I initially figured there would be more of a pack towards the front of the race, but it quickly thinned out and was basically a race for second after the third mile. I may have had a shot to catch up to the winner late in the race after a good 10^th mile but I just didn’t have the legs and I struggled over the last two miles. Regardless it was fun. I won some sweet Darn Tough Vermont socks (the second pair I’ve won…I love these socks) and a free pair of INOV8’s. Not a bad haul.

Tim records all of the races he puts on with a Go Pro camera mounted to either his quad or mountain bike. After the races he is kind enough to post them on youtube. The Thrill in the Hills video is embedded below. I’m in a three mile orange singlet with black shorts.

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