Pinhoti Conclusions...

As I mentioned before, Jody and I made it back to the hotel where I must admit it felt pretty good to grab a shower and hit the sack.

We got up the next morning and were able to talk to a few folks at breakfast who had both finished or had family members recovering in bed from finishing.

We made a final stop by the rec center to pick up gear from the bus ride, see who all was hanging around and enjoy some coffee before beginning the long drive home.

I was glad to see Ed, the other runner from Kentucky up and about at the breakfast. Had a great chance to introduce myself and compare our race experiences. As I mentioned earlier, Ed and I made it the same distance only I didn't realize he was the one warming up in the car while I was waiting on my ride.

Also had the opportunity to see another runner shortly after finishing who I'd run with for awhile in Nashville. It seems ultrarunning like all subcultures servers to make the world that much smaller which is one of the things I love about it. He had finished in about 27 hours and still looked good to go and even had an appetite afterwards.

Last we heard before heading out was that at about 10:30 there were approximately thirty folks who had finished and another 20 or so out on the course. If not for the drive ahead we would have loved to stay for the awards but needed to get back.

The drive home went well and I tried my best to keep my leg stretched out for most of the trip.

48 hours after the fact I was able to get around pretty well although the first 24 hours made me think I might have messed something up as the tendon behind my knee was still super stiff, unlike anything I had experienced before. If it was just muscle stiffness that would be one thing but having point tenderness at the top of my calf made me a bit nervous. To date I still haven't ran on it but have just done some light cross training. I'm shooting to run Otter Creek Marathon here in a few weeks so I guess I better get out there a bit.

Having had almost two weeks to reflect on the race I've come up with the following possible reasons why I didn't do as well as I would have liked.

The first and foremost was not enough long runs consistently throughout my training. More often than not the reason for this was simple boredom and lack of accountability. As the majority of my training was on my own I can think of several occasions where I cut my runs short simply because I lost interest or got tired of being out there in the dark on my own. In the future I would definitely like to get hold of some like minded folks and commit to some long runs in unique places. It is always hard to accomplish but I definitely need to make it a priority.

In conjunction with the first is the possibility that I ran my fifty miler too close too my hundred. Not having even ran a marathon distance in over six months the fifty was quite a jump as far as my long runs were concerned. While the fifty went near perfectly I don't doubt that it took a toll on my body, especially being mostly on asphalt.
While I would not hesitate to do a fifty so close to a hundred in the future I certainly feel that I should have started at the fifty and went back bi-weekly with my long runs by 45-40-35 etc. to prepare myself.
Similar to my previous marathon preparations I would love to be at the point where I could run the entire length of a fifty prior to doing a hundred. I definitely think this is a doable goal, especially given the right type of 50 miler.

I must again say that Steve Durbin is my hero for being able to knock out a sub 8hr 50m and go on to run his hundred at mother road in under 22 hours! Maybe in twenty years I can be that good!

Another factor in my race I strongly believe was just being extremely busy between the fifty and the 100. I think I probably put too much of an emphasis on rest and recovery and subsequently sat around working on my senior project at the computer and put on weight and got stiff.
I know for a fact that I put on probably five pounds between the two as a result of inactivity while researching, writing and resting. While it is important to replenish calories after a big race I think I may have over did it!

Mentally I struggled to remain focused on the event and not let it psyche me out. It is such a difficult distance to get your head around, for me at least that it is easy to second guess yourself and play what if games. While I was confident that I could gut it out physically it was the hundred intangibles that were hard not to let go of. The planning, tinkering, gear buying etc. went on right up until the end of the race ending with a mad dash of assembling all my supplies and making a mental plan of what would go where.

Of course this is all part of the learning process and I am already thinking of ways to make it smoother next time.

The 24 hours prior to the start also was rough physically. The stress and constraint of driving eight hours in a hurry then being stuck in traffic didn't help my outlook. Barely making the pre-race meeting and not feeling like I had time to unwind was another stressor. Then the maybe four hours of sleep plus two hour school bus ride to the start and then onto the trails probably didn't help much.

I was also guilty of violating the cardinal rule of racing which is don't race with anything you've never used before. Although I did this with my shoes and they were great I probably didn't need to carry an extra water bottle or gear like I did. Oh well.

All in all, I had a great time just wish I would have had more time on either end of the race to get to know some folks, chat and hang out. I'm looking forward to heading to Otter Creek in a few weeks as it was my initial race that launched me into trail racing and ultras. It is also a great race for relaxing, meeting new folks and enjoying a laid back race atmosphere.

Next on the horizon?

I plan on entering the lottery for Massanutten on December 1st and make my plans from there for my next hundred. If I don't get picked I will probably head to Illinois for McNaughton in April. In the meantime I'm going to try and hit all the Kentucky Ultras again including Lovin the Hills 50k and Land Between the Lakes.
My loose goal is still to try and get in at least one race of marathon distance or longer each month for an entire year. I may have to travel in January a bit to meet my goal but that's alright.

As for my next 100 attempt my training goals will be twofold and common to most runners.

More miles and less weight. Sounds simple but the holidays and weather often conspire against us when the nights turn long.

If you took the time, thanks for reading and feel free to make comments. I look forward to increasing my local ultra community.