Run the Rut this weekend

A true mountain race - photo credit: Myke Hemsmeyer

It's really happening... I'll be out in the Big Sky region this weekend and will actually be running the race. I say that because it still seems a bit surreal. It's 50k up a mountain, with a lot of terrain and hills and will be at a higher altitude. Did I train enough? Did I get enough climbs in? Will my legs and knees hold up? Why is it snowing there already!? I guess I'll find out on Saturday!

Those are always questions that enter my mind before a big race, but this one I'm especially worried about because of the amount of climbing that's involved. Based on my run at Blue Knob, I imagine I should be ok, but there will be a lot more challenges that start creeping into my mind and make me question whether or not this was a wise decision. But there is no time to worry, and just look forward to the adventure along with being able to spend some time with my college roommate!

Race Details

From +Big Sky Resort this Thursday morning

The race takes place at the Big Sky resort just outside of Bozeman, MT. The stage is set to kickoff with a vertical 1 mile race Friday (today), followed by the 50k and 12k on Saturday morning. I got a little worried today when I checked the weather and it said 34 *F and snowing! Snow... in September?!? But upon looking at the forecast, the weather should start in the low 30s but be in the 50s for the race with clear skies; perfect racing weather. Whew.

As for the actual course, the Montana Mikes and the Rut crew were out marking the course earlier this week. From what I've read, it will be challenging, but with great views and some good challenges. There will be a lot of single track, which I feel very comfortable with, and a fair amount of dirt trails. It's the scree and off trail I'm a bit new to, but I feel confident I'll be able to handle it.

Marking the course (courtesy of Instagram user @thrphoto)

The route features a challenging and steep summit, which features a via ferrata line to make the summit of Lone Peak. The climbs and elevation gain and drop will definitely cause a lot of pain on my legs and knees, but I think should be decent enough to let me walk away from the race still standing.

Elevation profile for the Rut 50K

I've been checking out twitter and other social medias to keep up with what's going on and see other pictures. The official tag for the race is #runtherut, so feel free to look yourself. The race looks fun and I'm excited for all it brings.

How to Watch the Race

There are a few avenues to keep track of the race if you feel so inclined. There is some twitter coverage via iRunFar.com that will be live tweeting the whole event. I suppose you could also just look for the tag #runtherut on twitter/instagram/fb. I'm not really sure how this works, but Ultrasports Live has some kind of coverage... just not sure if it's live, or afterwards they put something together, but that's here. I suppose check it out on Saturday?

My Expectations

As far as preparations go, there's not much more I can do with regard to physically preparing. I've gotten the runs in, and put in the time. To prepare for the weather, I'm definitely bringing some long sleeves and windbreaker. Haven't decided on what to wear on my head or if I'll need some gloves... I've got my shoes all broken in and will definitely bring some anti-chafe stuff (the stuff's a lifesaver). My food of choice will be some salt tabs (not really food I suppose) and Picky Bars as my main food source between aid stations. They seem to hold up pretty

I'm hoping to finish somewhere close to 7-8 hours. Because this race is part of some bigger series (called the Skyrunner World Series), it's attracting some big name talent. One of which is deemed one of the best trail runners in the world, Kilian Jornet. Expect me to finish a little bit after him (ha ha).

Outside the Race

After the race, the race organizers are supposed to be providing some fun activities as well. Including some Montana brewed beer, awards, and a mechanical bull (just in case you weren't beat up enough). Beyond the race, I'll get a chance to see my long time friend and former roommate, DZ! It's a friend of his wedding this weekend, which means DZ's family will be in town, so I'll get a chance to say hi to them and congratulations to his friend as well.

Looking forward to a great weekend and will post how it goes. Thanks for reading!

FAAP Fall Classic 10K - Race Report

Recently, I have been running more with a group in an effort to not only meet people but also to learn some local trails and technique for the hills. One of the guys also puts on a race that was this past weekend (9/7) that was a 10K trail race, so I decided to enter it, figuring it would be a good last-weekend event for me. The race is setup to support an orphanage in the Philippines, and this year, a portion would go to support victims of typhoon Haiyan.

Leading up to the race, I really beat up my legs a lot throughout the week (lifting weights, ~25-30 miles in 4 days, and hill repeats) and was ready to give them one last beating before they could rest.

Pre-Race

Packet pick-up and one of the volunteers

The morning was ideal racing conditions with perfectly clear skies and the temperature being a tad below 60 *F (I was a bit chilly). With this being a fairly small race, packet-pickup was by no means difficult. Got my number and, bam, I was off to do a quick warm-up.

I've figured out that my heart rate and breathing seem to spike at first before I really get into, so I tried to get that out of the way while I warmed up (and no I'm not talking about the spike that is erroneous on a heart rate monitor). Got in about a 10 minute warm-up along part of the course, paying attention to the roots and making a note that I would have to pace properly since the second half of the race has more hills.

Race Time

Decided not to bring the phone for race pictures, so you'll have to do without them :/

The course started off with the lead runners shooting off like drag racers. About 1/10th of a mile in was where the course went from road to trail, and meant the first turn... which meant, the lead runners missed the first turn and were yelled at to get back on course.

Good start...

Meanwhile, back on course, we were jockeying for position as we got into the single track section. There wasn't too much too worry about since I couldn't see the guy in front of me nor the girl or guy behind me, but in theory, that's what we were doing (or at least the others were).

The first half of the race seemed pretty flat without too much technical stuff. The miles ticked off pretty easy, and I figured I was doing a good job pacing, since the one time I took a wrong turn and got back on course, I saw the person behind me. Apparently I need to work on following the course, it will be a bit more important in the next race (read: it will be extremely important next race).

The second half of the course had more ups and downs and winding trails through it. I was handling it just fine, except at one point, I turned my focus to my watch and caught a root with my foot... nothing like feeling the race course with your face.

Towards the end, I started seeing a red shirt every now and then on the turns. I figured I had less than a mile to catch him, so I tried to pick up the pace. I wound up catching him on the last tenth of a mile, which featured a teasing of seeing finish line, but then a small loop around before actually making it there.

The finish

I ended up finishing 7th overall and 1st in my age group, which I was happy with (~46 mins)! I talked with the guy I passed at the end, and not only was he old enough to be my father, he also said he was a bit tired from his 19 mile run the day before... what a stud. I also want to point out that the first place finisher finished in 37 minutes or so, which means averaging under 6'/mile for 6.2 miles on trails! Very impressive.

Post-Race

After the race, was the usual bananas and water available for us, along with some Filipino food available to support the FAAP (Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh). Shortly after everyone finished, they began handing out awards and the medals... or the metals.

They aren't even metal

The awards are handcrafted wooden bamboo pieces that have a design woodburned into the front of them. A unique and authentic prize indeed. Something else they had at this race, which I hadn't seen before, was a sheet that listed the course records. While the women's record remained intact, the male course record was broken by a few minutes.

After the awards were over, there were a bit of festivities, which included some Filipino dances.

Performing a dance

Performing Tinikling dance

They even got some of the racers to volunteer and give the tinikling dance a shot. I decided to forego the dance this time, but some of the runners seemed like they had some good moves and didn't get clipped by the bamboo.

With that, I am signing off and thanks for reading!

Trip to Notre Dame vs Rice

For Labor Day weekend, I had planned on making a trip to ND prior to signing up for the rut, and I figured it would be a good trip to see some old friends, but I was (and still am) worried about training enough for the race. The added incentive for the weekend was it being Alumni Row weekend, meaning my fellow rowers would be converging on South Bend and bound for a good time.

Some upgrades had been made to the rowing program - not only were there some very nice shells (those green ones are Hudsons, which is what the US Men's team rows in), but there was a new coach; a coach who was a coxswain on the team when I was there and I think will be an excellent head for the team. Exciting!

Anyway, after a night of hanging out and reminiscing for a few hours (and playing some Super Smash Bros), we got to racing on Saturday morning. 8 of us alums jumped into a boat and got a chance to prove that we were still worthy rowers by racing the varsity crew. Even with all the injured vertabrae in the boat, we managed to kick butt. It's a nice feeling to have beat the varsity team, but worrisome that they couldn't beat a bunch of guys that aren't in as good of shape.

I had my one and only run of the weekend that morning... totaled a whopping 2 miles. Oh well, the race is pretty short right? But I did row for like 30 minutes, so that counts for something right? I figured I'd get my run in later in the weekend, specifically on Monday.

After the athletic endeavor of the weekend, we got to watch the football beat up on top ranked Rice University (they are top ranked in academics, not football, FYI). Always good to be back for the games, especially when we actually look like a team (ahem, Charlie Wies and your not-so-great teams).

It made for a nice weekend despite the fact that it gave me a bit of catching up to do with training.

Thanks for reading!