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| Presidential Traverse, August 29, 2015 |
2015 in Numbers
Total Mileage: 2,350 miles (3782 km)
Time Spent Running: 415 hours (17 days, 7 hours)
Number of Races: 27
Number of Marathons + Ultramarathons: 11
Personal Bests Set in 2015
Number of Races: 27
Number of Marathons + Ultramarathons: 11
Personal Bests Set in 2015
Distance
|
Time
|
Pace (min/mi)
|
| 1 mile |
5:51
|
5:51
|
| 5K |
19:47
|
6:22
|
| 10K |
43:30
|
7:00
|
| 13.1 |
1:37:23
|
7:26
|
| 26.2 |
3:24:44
|
7:49
|
| 50K |
4:45:00
|
9:12
|
| 50M |
7:44:39
|
9:18
|
| 100K |
12:12:00
|
11:47
|
| 100M |
21:53:04
|
13:00
|
The Year of the Ultramarathon: 2015 Highlights
While my first two ultras were back in 2014, it wasn't until 2015 that I had my first "good" ultra races. Between these big races, I had plenty of shorter events and some challenging training runs. Here are some of the more memorable runs.
Watchung Winter 50K (1/3) was a huge turning point for me, because it was the first time that I was able to finish strong in an ultra. On a mild snowy day, I started out at a conservative 11:00/mi pace on the smooth single track trails of the Watchung Reservation and finished with a string of 8:30 miles and plenty of energy in reserve. Suddenly, 50K didn't seem like that long of a distance - huge confidence boost.
NJ Marathon (4/26) reminded me that marathons are still tough. Although I set what was then a PR (3:34:50), my pace slowed from 8:00/mi to 9:00/mi over the last 10K and I felt like death at the finish line. Respect the distance, Ry!
Mayapple 100K (5/30) my first ever win at any distance! On a sunny, humid, 85 degree day, I slogged through 65 miles of hilly, rocky trails. By the end, every other 100K runner had dropped out, leaving me to claim 1st place in a spectacularly mediocre time of 13:44:00. Incidentally, this was the NJ 100K trail championship, so I got a sweet gold (plastic) medal. The lesson here: if you can't be the fastest, you should be able to out-suffer your competition.
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| Holding my NJ 100K trail championship medal. Sweet farmer's tan, bro! |
The Great New York 100 (620-6/21) my first 100 mile race. An emotionally and physically draining experience, but probably the race that I'm most proud of. For all the gory details, see the race report in my previous post.
Wildcat 100K (8/15) was essentially a carbon copy of Mayapple. Temperatures soared into the mid-90's during the middle of the day, and the humidity was unbearable. At every opportunity, Alex and Julie filled my hat, arm warmers, and neck handkerchief with ice, but my body was still threatening to shut down after 50ish miles. After a stern pep talk from Alex and some clutch pacing by friends Elaine and Tom, I managed to finish the last 10 mile loop and win the race in 13:53:00. Among the 7 people who started the 50M and 100K races, there were only 2 total finishers.
Presidential Traverse (8/29) was not a race per se, but it was my favorite running experience of the year. On an absolutely beautiful day in the White Mountains, I covered 19 miles of the most rugged terrain in the country in 7.5 hours (an average pace of almost 24:00/mi!), crewed by Alex, Chris, and Sandy. While I didn't come close to the fastest known time (4:34:36 by Ben Nephew), the views were spectacular and the weather was perfect (see picture above).
Barkley Fall Classic 50K (9/19) lived up to its expectations. Ask any ultrarunner what that hardest 100 mile race is, and you'll hear one of two possible responses: (1) The Barkley 100 or (2) Barkley doesn't count because blah blah blah (i.e. it's too difficult to compare to the rest). The BFC is the 50K(ish) version of the Barkley, featuring classic off-trail climbs like Testicle Spectacle, Meth Lab Hill, and the infamous Rat Jaw which climbs 2,000 feet in about a mile. Did I mention that these climbs are all covered in something called a saw brier? Needless to say, this was a friggin' awesome experience! I even got to chat with legendary race director Lazarus Lake (who commented on how smelly I was at the final aid station). I already signed up again for 2016.
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| This is me crawling up Rat Jaw on all fours. Not too many ultras require crawling. Or shin guards. |
Bucks County Marathon (11/15) was where I finally figure out how to run a marathon. Until this race, I had crashed hard at mile ~20 of every single marathon I had raced. At Buck's County, I was able to increase my pace from 8:00/mi to 7:30/mi for the last 10K and finish with a 7:09 mile, setting a huge 10 minute PR and winning my age division.
Frozen Fools 50K (12/5) was my redemption for a bad race in 2014. In the 2014 edition of FF50K, I took a wrong turn and ran an extra 10K. Distracted and disappointed by my mistake, I stopped eating, my energy levels dropped, and my pace plummeted. I walked most of the last 10 miles of the course and felt miserable afterwards. This year, I stayed on course, fueled well, and won the race in 6:10:58, the sixth fastest time in the 6 year history of the event.
50 Mile Track Run (12/19) was another non-race. Just a crazy-ass workout that I decided to run as both a tribute to Zach Bitter's 100 mile world record attempt at Desert Solstice and as a way to PR in the 50 mile distance. I ran 201 laps around a standard 400 meter track in cold and windy conditions. I was self-supported and only briefly shared the track with a sprinter who was doing a short workout. It was frigid and lonely and mindbogglingly boring, but by the end of the day, I had set new PR's for the 50K and 50M distances.
2016 Goals
I'd say 2015 was a success. I ran some cool races, I won a few things, and I feel like I figured out pacing up to about 50 miles (my 100K+ races all got pretty ugly toward the end). So what's next?
As the philosopher Emeril Lagasse famously said, "BAM! Let's kick it up a notch!"
Goal 1: Finish all three 100 milers I'm signed up for (NJ Ultra Festival, TGNY, and Grindstone). The NJ Ultra Festival will be my first trail 100, and I'm curious to see how my legs hold up on 100 miles of varied terrain. At TGNY, I'll be looking to improve on my 9th place 22-hour finish from last year. Lastly, Grindstone will (hopefully) be my qualifying race for the Western States and Hardrock lotteries. It will probably take a few years before I get into either of these races, but you have to start somewhere!
Goal 2: Stay healthy. This goes hand-in-hand with my first goal, but it bears emphasizing. I've been lucky to avoid serious injuries so far in my running career (a few ankle sprains from playing ultimate frisbee and a bit of plantar fasciitis in 2015), and I would like to keep it that way. I'm going to keep an eye out for overuse injuries and place more of an emphasis on recovery (foam rolling, stretching, icing, rest) than I did last year.
Goal 3: PR in all race distances again. This is becoming a yearly goal of mine because it gives me concrete times to aim for, and the mix of distances keeps my running interesting.
2016 Race Schedule
(*denotes tentatively scheduled, 100 mile races in bold)
(*denotes tentatively scheduled, 100 mile races in bold)
Date
|
Race
|
Distance
|
| 1/1 |
5K
| |
| 2/7 |
Pre-Game 4 Miler
|
4M
|
| 2/20 |
Febapple Frozen 50
|
50M
|
| 3/5 |
Lenape Trail Run
|
50K
|
| 3/19 |
Tammany 10*
|
50K
|
| 4/2 |
NJ Ultra Festival
|
100M
|
| 4/16 |
Breakneck Point Marathon*
|
26.2M
|
| 5/1 |
NJ Marathon
|
26.2M
|
| 5/28 |
Mayapple 100
|
100K
|
| 6/18 |
TGNY
|
100M
|
| 7/4 |
Revolutionary Run
|
10K
|
| 8/20 |
Pikes Peak*
|
26.2M
|
| 9/5 |
Hot Diggity Dog
|
10K
|
| 9/17 |
Barkley Fall Classic
|
50K
|
| 10/18 |
Grindstone
|
100M
|
| 11/6 |
Seacoast
|
13.1M
|
| 11/13 |
Buck's County Marathon
|
26.2M
|
| 12/3 |
Frozen Fools
|
50K
|
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