Preview of Rock 'N the Knob

Blue Knob Ski Resort

Prior to me embarking on the quest of my Rut 50K madness, I was signed up for a "lowly" 20 mile race called Rock N' the Knob. It's hailed as the highest trail race in Pennsylvania, with a lot of climbing. Unfortunately, that race will take place the same weekend as the Rut, so I will be unable to do both. Fret not, my legs still need a good beating before the Rut, and I figured the Rock N' the Knob course would be perfect training for the 20 miles training called for, so I headed out there this past weekend.

My legs needed some love

I had to drive a few hours outside of Pittsburgh, and noticed a lot of fog along the way. I figured by the time the sun came up, the fog would burn away and I'd have a beautiful run, I even brought my sunglasses. Since I was out in an unknown part of Pennsylvania doing a run that I had no prior knowledge of, I decided I should take my time and make sure I don't get lost and stay on course. I studied and downloaded the course description to my phone and carried that with me (on airplane mode to conserve energy) along with a map of the race course (life saver).

Course Map

The run started off great with a nice steep uphill portion (elevation map for reference) while on the roads. It started going downhill once I reached the top, both literally and figuratively. The directions say to turn onto Jack Rabbit Rd and then a left onto a singletrack that leads down Tower rd. I ran up and down Jack Rabbit and couldn't find the entrance to the single track. So I just added some miles and continued down the main road knowing I could pick up the trail later.

I finally got back on course and onto the trails and was able to stay on course for a majority of the time. For the most part, the trails looked like below, with lots of lush green on both sides, some fog overhead, and a semi-rocky singletrack with some overgrowth every now and then. One creature that caused a bit of annoyance through the runs were the spiders. They had their webs everywhere! For whatever reason, they would string a few lines (every now and then, and entire web) across the trail that were thick and sticky. I'm not sure what kind of spiders they were, but by the end, I could definitely grab a handful of webs off my face.

Typical view of the trail

Once I was on the trail, I only got lost every 30 minutes or so before I got back on track. It took me a while in some spots to find the trail because I was unclear about directions. I think part of the issue was me not knowing my heading so I couldn't tell which direction to hold the map. Note to self: bring a compass next time. At one point, I actually ran about 1 mile off course and ended up in a town, at which point I knew I was off course. As I was checking my map to see where I missed my turn, a local resident came up to me and started telling me about the strawberries growing out of his well, and how the snow plow blocked him in last winter but he had to intimidate the plower to keep his driveway clear (a few other stories too).... rural town PA I suppose? He just needed a friend.

The trail continued to be beautiful with the greenness, while adding some nice hilly and technical challenges at times. I think it would've been nice to see farther than 100 yards in front of me, but the fog added a bit of mystery to the run as well. It definitely seemed to get worse as the day went on, and I definitely didn't need my glasses. One downside to the fog was the water in the air... it completely drenched me. It's like being lightly misted for 6 hours except there is no sun that you need to cool off from, and instead, it dowses everything and mixes in the sweat... including my map and phone (both survived though).

As I was getting farther along the run, at about mile 16 or 17, I was cruising along the Homestead trail (referencing the course map above, it's the white arrows) before I ran into a bit of a hurdle. The description says

The trail goes from dark pins and a damp moss running surface, to a grassy lane, to a steeper (and tougher) single track at each end of the loop.

Grassy lane

Of the entire run, the "grassy lane" was the part I enjoyed the LEAST. I didn't realize that would entail running through so much overgrowth I couldn't see the trail. I contemplated going back and finding a way around, largely because I didn't know how long the "lane" was nor did I want to contend with my friends in the field (those would be the spiders, although I did wonder if raptors might be present). The above picture was what I was dealing with, and I pretty much guessed at where the trail was... I eventually found it on the other side and was glad to make it out alive, but unfortunately not unharmed. The scratches from the thorns weren't too bad... although, after about a day, it seemed the damage done was a bit more extensive (and itchy too).

Casualty of the run

24 hours later (sorry about all the upper thigh)

From there it was onto the steepest and most technical section of the trail. The hardest part was either going uphill on the rocks (which I decided to walk a lot of), or going downhill quickly on the edge of a ridge and needing to turn without falling off the side. I can see how a rock could cause a misplaced step and send a runner off the side.

At this point, I realized I was about 3 miles ahead of what the course should've been due to all my fun side adventures I decided to have. My watch had me at about 21 miles, and I still had about 3 to go. There was a chance to catch a route back to my car, or I could keep going and get to the peak of the mountain view trail which is a vista point.... well I wasn't going to come all this way and miss out on a pretty vista, right?

I love seeing the tops of trees

Totally forgot that the fog would severely limit my sight range. Oh well, now it gives me a reason to come back out and see what it looks like.

It was a fairly short trip back to the car and completed my 23.8 miles! I was glad to be done, and very hungry (I also kind of wanted a beer). I was worried I would mentally crash on a 2 hour drive home leading to a physical crash, so I opted to check into Blue Knob State Park and get a camping site for the evening (don't worry, I came prepared and brought my camping supplies). I promptly ate all that I had brought, and then passed right out! A good little adventure.

Here's a little cutout of the actual route that I ran and the heart rate, elevation, and pace graph. I really took my time, especially with the uphills, which I think will be key when I'm running up steeper hills/mountains at a higher elevation. Thanks for reading (or skimming)!

Lines that are not continuous to a flowing trail are typically where I was lost and off course

All over the place

Training while at a Bachelor Party

I should point out that the bachelor party was in Las Vegas. Since it falls smack in the middle of my already crammed training schedule, I, unfortunately, didn't have much room to wiggle with the schedule. I'm a bit behind on posting this, but the bachelor party was two weekends ago (August 15-17th).

So how do you train for a mountain race when one is in Vegas (aside from just not training)? You put the treadmill on a very steep incline and run for 13 miles. I can't say that it was my favorite thing I did that weekend, nor was it my favorite run so far. I chose the treadmill because it not only gave me a way to control the gradient I was going up, but also was relatively cool since it was pretty hot out (95 *F).

Had to slow down to take the picture, but couldn't go very fast anyway

The treadmill was actually kind of cool having as it had some levers on the side to control either the speed or incline. They were very easy to use and adjust, as I was doing a lot of that during my 2 hour run. I took a few breaks during my run to get some water, and was prepared to get off if the treadmills got full, but I just kept on chugging.

Two hours later, and very soaked in sweat (gross, I know), I was ready for a shower and to get some food and get the festivities started! We got some large servings at Hash House a Go Go, and they definitely provided all the food I wanted. Although, I have to say the pancakes really weren't that good and I think I could've gone for some more eggs.

Breakfast guaranteed to fill you up

The rest of the weekend was a blast with some pool time, some gambling, and other Vegas attractions. Luckily, there was no "Hangover" type shenanigans to take place, and the groom came back in one piece. I will say, Monday was a rough day at work which featured a mid-day nap.

With that, thanks for reading and I'll keep posting if you keep reading...

Adios Vegas!

The Start Of Something Awesome

I'm back! It's been awhile, but have decided to try blogging about one specific thing right now (especially since I usually wrote about really random things), and because this one thing is so stupid and crazy... I had to write about it somewhere.

So a bit of backstory. Back in April, I was reading a magazine called Trail Runner and came across a race called "The Rut." It's a true mountain race where you run up a mountain- simple, right? To make it more enticing, it was in the short long-distance category of 50k (31 miles), easy, right? Everything about it sounded awesome and epic (crazy is implied), so I went to the website for it, immediately, to see when the event is held and if I could sign up for it.

Run The Rut 50K: Big Sky, Montana from eli weiner on Vimeo.


It's in Montana and in September which would allow for ample time to train and find a flight to the race! When I went to register, I found out they were sold out, 500 runners only. Luckily, they had a wait list. My logic was as follows, "No one ever gets in off wait lists. I sign up now on the wait list, and I'll plan for the race next year." The plan was executed, and I promptly forgot about the race thinking I'd be signing up in the fall.

Fast forward now to August. I now live in Pittsburgh, and after a brief hiatus from running due to some funkiness in my knee, I decided to start checking out some local parks and trails. I was feeling good and found a local trail runners group and got an itch to enter some races... then I get an email, "You made it into the Rut 50K! Immediate Reply Needed." I had 48 hours to come up with a decision. Keep in mind, this was August 6th and the race is September 13th, a little over 6 weeks away.

I panicked a little, called my brother, paced around my office, got really excited then nervous then I responded and said sign me up! So with that, I'm headed out to race up and down a mountain, at high elevation, over the course of 31 miles, and the race is hurtling toward me in less than 30 days! You know what they say, go big or go home...

Crazy? Probably. Stupid? I think most people would agree. Awesome? That's why I signed up!

I'll keep you posted with how training and the race goes! I've already knocked out some good workouts, but many more to come.