Hitting Play: Mt. Washington Road Race Report

I'm not sure I have any readers left out there since I hit pause on my blog several months ago...but in case there is intelligent life out there, I'm back - and posting my race report from today's Mt. Washington Road Race!

Last year I entered the lottery for the Mt. Washington Road Race and was amazed to find that I got in. Then I promptly got injured and was unable to run the race. I emailed the race director just letting him know my spot was free (I didn't know if they might be able to use the slot for someone else) and he said I could defer to the next year - I'd be able to bypass the lottery and just sign up for the race - awesome. Fast forward to this summer and next thing I knew, the race was upon me.

Let me backtrack and get you caught up on what's been going on at Squirrel HQ lately. I last mentioned some concerning shin issues which I automatically feared were my bones disintegrating into multiple stress fractures - turns out that is not the case and it was just some shin splinty stuff that eased up fairly quickly. Since then, I've been running pretty steadily and feeling pretty good. Still cycling a bit, but mostly trying to concentrate on the running and enjoying being injury-free. In May I ran my first race in quite awhile, the Pineland Farms Trail Challenge, which I may go back and write a race report for if I can remember the details... I also have had some nice long runs on trails in Maine and the Appalachian Trail in PA which I may go back and post on as well, but don't hold your breath on those.

Now, back to the race.

The Prep:

I really had no idea what to expect, other than that it was going to be uphill. I had heard different strategies, run/walk, power hike, survive...and different accounts of people's races, but probably the best thing was when Ryan, Jeff, and I previewed the course last weekend. As we drove up the Road, I felt I could get a good sense of the grade and was surprised to find that there were actually a few "flat" sections (which really meant "less steep"). Ryan gave us some very helpful pointers along the way (e.g., running on the outside of some of the turns as they were actually a little less steep than the inside) that I actually remembered during the run. The best advice was to just not worry about what anyone else was doing and run what felt comfortable and what worked. Pacing was another story. The website provides a time predictor based on your times in other race distances. Apparently most people seemed to concur that your finish time would be pretty close to your 1/2 marathon time. I avoided the time predictor and just kept a vague idea in my head of a range of possible finish times and worked out what the pace would be for those. Even though there were a lot of unknowns, I think it worked in my favor as far as mental preparation goes. The best I could do would be to just get out on the course on race day and see how it felt and whatever happened was going to be my own unfolding news story in real time. It kind of took the pressure off any performance expectations.

The Race:

Race day started pretty early in the morning. Pete and I met Jeff, Cacky, and Danielle at the Gray Park & Ride at 6 am where we had orchestrated a complex caravan of vehicles to travel to and from the race at various times to fit various schedules. After a boneheaded issue with my timing chip which I won't bother addressing (me being the bonehead), Ryan (who had stayed in NH the night before), Jeff and I chillaxed in Ryan's office before the race while our significant others drove up the Road for a little hike and to wait for us to arrive at the summit. Ryan's office? Yes, since he works for the Auto Road, we were treated to all kinds of little insider goodies, among which was getting to sit inside before the race, use normal restrooms instead of portapotties, and generally have some quiet time before the start without having to mix with a thousand other anxious runners. Next thing I knew, we were out on a little warm up run and then to the start. Jeff made his way toward the front and I knew the next time I would see him would be at the top as he's one speedy mofo. Ryan and I started together, but I knew he would soon become a speck in the distance as well. My other concern of the day? What annoying song would surely be in my head the whole way up the mountain. Rob Base. Yep, "Joy and Pain". Sigh. Luckily, I managed to override joy, pain, sunshine and rain (pump it up, pump it up, now!) with the sounds of my own (and hundreds of my newest closest friends') labored breathing. Speaking of rain, the weather was actually really nice - warm even. I didn't need the arm warmers that I had brought and the summit temps were sounding downright balmy! No time to think of the summit though. With the fabled "Only one hill!" pronouncement from the race director and a VERY loud starting gun, we were off in a mob shuffle. The first bit is actually on a flat section, so I just took it easy and tried to get a sense of what the pace would be. That ended pretty quickly as we immediately began climbing upward and I soon settled into a low gear that I would pretty much maintain the rest of the race. I recalled from our reconnaisance mission the week before that there were indeed some sections that just felt steeper than others when I finally found myself on one of those sections (at least I hoped it was one of those sections and not just me breaking down) I decided to power walk up to...the top? Well, there was no end, so when it felt a little less super-steep, I started running again. I feared walking because 1) I didn't think I'd get going again, 2) my running gear actually felt pretty decent and 3) I just wanted to get to the top and running, no matter how slow, was going to get me there faster than walking. All in all, I'd say I only walked a tiny bit - at the water stops and maybe one or two other times on really steep sections. At mile 2 I was pretty sure I was never going to get to the top - it just. felt. so. long. (I'd feel this way until about mile 6 when the end finally seemed somewhat close.) At some point I settled into the aforementioned "gear". It was a pace that kept me going forward steadily, felt relatively comfortable, and was something I thought I could maintain if I kept focused. This actually came as a bit of a surprise to me because I had imagined that my pace was going to be very erratic and I was pleased to settle into a steady forward motion, albeit slow. My mind felt strong and I started counting to 100 over and over with each step. I told myself I could walk if I wanted, but I had to get to 100 first - then instead of walking, I'd just start counting again. A little Rainman-y but it worked. Forget trying to reel people in and pick them off - I think I passed and was passed by the same group of runners the whole way up - everyone had a different strategy and it seemed like we all leapfrogged and ended up in the same place at the same time. Never mind, I was happy to just worry about my own self. It was hard work and I just wanted to hang on and get there. Somewhere after mile 3 I thought I saw Ryan up ahead. As I inched closer and closer, I could tell he wasn't feeling the love of Mt. Washington primarily because of the fact that I was approaching him and normally I'd be eating his dust. As I came up to him, he confirmed that he was just having a crappy day, which happens to all of us, and I knew we'd see each other at the top - no need to discuss it. One, two, three.....ninety-nine, one hundred, one, two, three.... and I was above the treeline. The sun was shining now and clouds hung in the valleys next to the mountain. I could see the tips of the surrounding mountains poking through the fog and ahead I could see a long string of runners ahead winding up, and up, and up. At one point the road curved in such a way that I could see a faraway string of runners behind me also winding up and up - it was a very cool view. When I saw the radio tower of the summit I knew I was really getting close. Then the final stretch was upon me - the short 22% grade wall - and then the finish! Jeff and the rest of the crew cheered me in and I remembered again how awesome finish lines are. Thanks so much to Pete, Danielle, and Cacky for supporting us and spending the day on the Mountain (sounds like they got a pretty good hike in at the alpine garden as well). Ryan was not far behind and once all the Trail Monsters were done, we walked up to the true summit to take a few pictures and recap the race. Jeff came up in a blazing fast 1:25 and had a stellar day. I rolled in in about 1:42 and was happy with how it went given that I had no idea how I would feel. Ryan has the best attitude of anyone I know on a day when he said he just didn't have the focus he usually does, but still had fun. Afterward we all went to the Moat and had a wonderful leisurely meal and the usual entertaining conversation. I'm glad I had the experience of such a unique race I probably never would have done otherwise.

I also want to mention that this was the first time ever that I have raced under a team name and worn a team singlet. Although our team didn't qualify for points (too few people and they don't allow mixed teams - stupid) it still felt pretty cool to be wearing a Trail Monster singlet (thanks Emma!) and running under a team name. I'll post some pictures once I get them off my camera.

It's good to be back writing here.