earlblewett
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Posts: 100
Location: Tulsa, OK
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 Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2009 8:29 pm Post subject: Flat Rock 50 km report (long) |
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Flat Rock 50 km 2009 by Earl Blewett
For the first time in a while I was actually trained for Flat Rock. I’d done some mountain running and long training runs in July, run on Turkey Mountain in August and September and run the Turkey and TATUR 50 km. Unfortunately, I also fell at the T & T 50 and injured my left knee. It was still a bit sore before the race. The weather forecast was good with a cool morning and the afternoon temperatures of 77 F (they reached 80 F). I’m training for the Ozark Trail 100, November 7, so the up and down course at Flat Rock will be good training. My walking really needs work so I thought I’d do a lot of that. So the plan was to go out really fast in the cool morning and walk most of the way back from the turnaround. As usual, things didn’t go quite as planned.
I managed to get away from Tulsa (and work) early and arrived just in time for the pasta dinner. A lot of the usual suspects were there, although Teresa was conspicuously absent, having completed her 10th straight Flat Rock last year.
Supper was good as usual, and I talked to a lot of the same idiots that come to this every year. After things started to wind down, I drove west and dropped a cooler at Oak Ridge with gels, bottles of Gatorade and more powder. I like my sport drink made to manufacturer’s directions (full strength) and Eric always has it pretty dilute. I pulled the wagon under a big fir tree back at the race start and discovered I’d brought the air mattress the puppy had punctured. I filled it up but it was flat in 3 hours. The night would have been a lot more comfortable with some padding. The rain started after 1:00 am; gentle at first but some heavy showers later. The lightening never got closer than ten miles.
I was glad the rain had cooled things down but the course was going to be muddy. I had my old faithful pair of Adidas Supernova’s that I’d had since 2006. I only use them at Flat Rock, Cross Timbers and muddy races like the T & T 50 two weeks before. They’re heavy but the sole is stiff and keeps me from getting stone bruises on the bottom of my feet. Unfortunately the left shoe doesn’t fit that well and requires a lot of taping or I lose the skin under my ankle bone. With the cooler weather my plan to run with a single bottle seemed like a good idea.
I was hoping to sleep in to 6:30 am but the bustle of volunteers getting ready forced me up early. I taped my feet and toes (mostly successfully) and finally got my contacts in. I really wasn’t awake until several miles into the race (first fall); I’ll get Ken for the picture of me he posted on his blog. I ate my wildly exciting breakfast, banana and a Clif bar, and listened to Eric’s pre-race briefing. I’ve had stomach trouble two of the last four years so I was careful what I ate the two days pre-race; no more sampling six kinds of energy bars the night before the race. I really wasn’t functioning too well, just reading my checklist (Bodyglide, antihistamine, remember watch, etc.) and didn’t think to get out my camera and get any shots. I hadn’t planned on taking it on the run; I’ve dozens of photos of the course over the years. Of course there were some great clear streams running. I didn’t really wake up on the walk to the start.
Eric got people moved up to the front and I tried to be 12 – 15 people in so I could get a position near the front. He counted us down to the start and we were off. A bunch of fast guys, 6 – 8, broke away while we were on the road. I had worked to the front of the main pack and was the second runner onto the trail after the speedsters. The first trail section is the most difficult part of the course and I just hate getting stuck in a train of runners walking the down hills and slowly picking the way through the rocks. The trail was slick from rain and my heart rate soon was higher than it should be but I’d planned on running the first 45 – 75 minutes a lot faster than I should. The fellow ahead of me, who I think was Scott Hill from Wichita, pulled ahead of me whenever the course was close to runable but I closed on him when the trail went downhill or got really technical. I went down one drop with a turn and slid off the course. The trail shoes didn’t slip, the course just crumbled away under me. Fortunately the rocks caught my leg and I didn’t slide off. I was definitely awake without caffeine.
The course was really pretty; the mosses were especially green with all the rain. I hit the first aid station one minute earlier than planned but that was alright. Somewhere near the second aid station I had to drop back and let the runner ahead of me go; about 60 – 65 minutes in. The trail was pretty good and he was moving too fast for me. The cool morning was really making the run a lot easier. As Oak Ridge, the third aid station, got nearer, two runners passed me. I kept to my pace and they soon disappeared ahead of me. Within five minutes Steve Siegele and another guy caught up to me, just before the second aid station. I thought I was running well but wondered how much I was slowing down and if a whole train of runners was going to be passing me. I ran with the two runners occasionally ahead or behind them, depending on what happened at the aid stations. Steve moved ahead of me easily on good terrain and I moved up on the other fellow on technical areas. It was nice to see water flowing over the waterfall. I haven’t seen it running since 1999.
Both of the runners moved ahead of me at the unmanned fourth Aid Station when I spent time mixing powders for my bottle. I passed them again in the technical sections where the cliffs loom overhead before the detours around the high water at the west end. Steve (who lives nearby, trains on the course and does a lot of course maintenance) said it was his least favourite part of the trail. It’s one of my favourite parts. Steve and I moved ahead of the other fellow through here and through the mud. We came into the turnaround together or close to it at 2:59. This split time would mean a 6:30 finish in my pre-injury days and was great as I’d hoped to do the turn at 3 hours even. For the first time ever at Flat Rock I had a drop bag and I grabbed a water bottle, drank Ensure and stashed some gels in my belt pouch. Dana Childress helped get me a lot of really cold water and I wolfed down potatoes and bananas (my two favourite ultra foods). I walked out of the station with my hands full of food and ahead of Steve. I walked a ways getting all the food into me and had run for a few minutes when Steve went by. This time I couldn’t keep up even though I thought I was running well.
I really like seeing the other runners as you head back down the trail and to be honest I really like to be heading back TOWARDS the finish instead of away from it. There were lots of 50 km runners this year and some looked like they’d been down a few times. Flat Rock is a second half race. That’s when you really catch and pass people (for good) or get caught. I had planned to walk a lot on the return but ended up running almost the whole way including the hills. There were a few hills between Aid Station #1 and the finish that I needed to walk and some of the steep, use-your-hands climbs did require a few paces to get the heart rate down.
The guy that had been running with Steve when they caught me just before the second aid station on the way out kept catching me on the way back. He was a nemesis, running really quietly and appearing silently at Aid Station #3 and Oak Ridge. I was having a good smooth run with no stomach problems but a little motivation didn’t hurt. I had one hard spill on the way back but mostly fell on my left arm. Sometimes I’m prone to toe-stubbing on the last ¼ of Flat Rock. I got out of the second Aid Station before he appeared but I was sure I heard him arrive as I left. I filled up at the Aid #1 for the longest stretch of the day making sure to drink a lot. I was a bit dehydrated although I wasn’t cramping. The single bottle strategy was working and I sure didn’t lose any time stopping to urinate. The fellow behind me didn’t seem to do technical trail as fast as I did so I hoped to hold him off on the difficult first section. However, there had been a lot of runners within 5 minutes of me at the turnaround and anyone could catch me on this part. I like this section even in the warm afternoon. There was a strong breeze and on different parts of the trail it was very refreshing. I kept removing my cap to cool off. As you work around the knob toward the dam it always seems to take forever but finally there was the blue loop (if you ran the race you know what I mean) and it’s time to descend and leave the trail for the road to the finish. I ran out on the grass with lots of energy left and ran steadily on the road. There weren’t any runners in sight when I turned onto the spur to the Outlet Channel shelter and I knew I wouldn’t be caught. I ran steadily to and through the finish for a time of 6:36:20. That’s the best I’ve done since I came back from injury, my third best time at Flat Rock. Back in 1999, when I was a decade younger and twenty pounds lighter, I ran 5:37:40 to set my PR which isn’t going to fall. I was very happy with the run. I went out fast but didn’t fade and get passed by other runners. I also had lots left at the end and that should be good for the 50 miler. Last year at Mother Road, I had lots of energy left after 100+ miles, I just couldn’t run much faster than my walk. I ended up 10th overall of 43 finishers in the 50 km.
I had a porta-shower warming on top of my car so I showered, cleaned off and put on dry clothes. Then I got my bag of salt and vinegar chips, some pop and settled down on a lawn chair to watch the other runners finish. The fellow behind me finished ten minutes back and told me they told him he was four minutes behind me at Aid Station #1. So I had built some time on him on the long last section. Steve, who I never saw after he left me near the turnaround finished seven minutes ahead of me. Some young guy had won the race with a 4:31 or so time. I ate spaghetti and meatballs and took pictures of finishers while the other runners finished. That’s one of the best parts of the race, being mostly clean, dry, sitting down eating greasy salty foods and watching other people finish.
The sore knee I was worried about hurt for a while. Then I fell around hour two right on it and it didn’t hurt at all after that. However, after the race I could feel that it was swollen. I hope it recovers in two weeks for the 50 miler at Heartland. I guess I’ll have to practice my walking there. I think I’m actually pretty well trained for a 50 km race and likely decently trained for a 50 miler. I’m not ready for a 100 miler but it’s six weeks away. I need to lose 5 pounds and get down to 185 at least.
I was hoping to see Long Vu, Ken, Dennis and his daughter finish but Dana told me Ken would likely not be in until 5:30 pm. Jen, my 6-month pregnant wife, was dog-sitting in an apartment and likely getting stir crazy so I headed home to take the dogs off her hands. As usual, I stopped in Bartlesville for a burger and fries but got back to Tulsa before Jen snapped and turned the dogs loose. The one year old pup has a lot of energy and doesn’t take to being cooped up in an apartment. Jen is in an apartment to be away from the renovation dust while the dogs and I are in the house as it is being renovated and expanded.
My original post ultra food, dating back to 1993, has always been Hickory Farm Summer Sausage. But the last ultra and this one I craved cheese on crackers. So I picked up the dogs and hit Whole Foods for a wedge of Danish Blue and a box of Triscuits. They went down well on Saturday night while relaxing and watching bad television. Another Excellent Flat Rock Completed! [the definition of an excellent Flat Rock is finishing without any broken bones].
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Earl L. Blewett Slow Swimmer
137 East 34 Street Slow Biker
Tulsa, OK 74105 Slow Runner
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TriSloth@earlblewett.net
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