Sunday: 6/11/2017: 15.06 miles, 3:51:26, 15:22 pace, 79F, 48% RH, 8 mph WSW wind, partly cloudy.
Today was my last practice run for Many on the Genny (MOTG). My plan was to run from MOTG AS #2 to Sehgahunda CP #3 which is about 18 miles. My darling wife, Christine, was again going to be my crew. It was warm so I wore shorts, calf sleeves, Darn Tough socks, an orange Shoreline Half short sleeve tech top along with my Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes. I chose to carry a 20 ounce water bottle and 2 Hammer Gels (both big mistakes in hindsight).
We got down to MOTG AS #2 (the St. Helena parking lot) around 8:50 AM. I geared up, memorized the map about what trails I was going to take and asked Christine to meet me at the cabins past the Parade Grounds to give me water and nutrition in about 90 minutes and then to pick me up at Sehgahunda CP #3 (which is about where the power lines head over River Rd). Simple ... right?
I thought I had everything covered. Well ... I made some assumptions that I will get to later. My mother, may she rest in peace, taught me what happens when you assume .. you make an ass out of you and me. Sometimes that simple lesson still catches me more times than I care to admit.
Anyway ... I started out at 9:06 AM next to Trail 13. I thought that it hooked up with Trail 1 ... well, it didn't. It just headed down for about 1/2 mile to the Genesee River. So I headed back up and found that Trail 1 was unmarked and ran just off the Park Rd past all the overlooks on the way to Lower Falls. So ... I wasted about 20 minutes before I got going in the right direction in the first place. I ran/walked the 6 miles down to Lower Falls.
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| Lookmg down on one of the small falls off Trail 1 enroute to Lower Falls |
So ... what to do? Hmm ... wait for her while I was a bit thirsty and hungry or contine onward? Well ... I filled my 20 ounce water bottle, had my fill of water and continued onward (probably not a good idea) on Trail 9 (which had a marked trailhead). This trail led out to the stone section of River Rd. I turned left, walked for about 200 yards and then turned left onto the Finger Lakes Trail. It was hot. I was a bit thirsty. I conserved water but still had some left. I got to the blue blazes for Sehgahunda CP #6 and took a wrong turn to the left. I kind of knew I wasn't headed in the right direction and only went a 1/4 mile. I found I was on a salmon trail not the yellow FLT. I backtracked, found the yellow FLT blazes and continued onward.
I passed the blue blazes for Sehgahunda CP #5. I had my last Hammer Gel as I walked onward. I was thirsty and hungry ... not good signs if you want to run trail so I walked. I did trot downhill when I could. I did an assessment of my condition and decided to bail early at CP #4 instead of going onward to CP #3. I found that I had a little cell reception so I sent a text to Christine: "Meet me at Sehgahunda CP #4. ETA 30 minutes". I come upon the blue blazes for CP #4 and slowly headed up to River Rd. I came out of the woods at River Rd ... no Christine and just 2 cars off the road. I went back to sit in the shade ... confident that she would soon arrive. I texted her "Here." Well ... I expected her to drive down from CP #3 to CP #4 which is only about 2 miles on River Rd. Well ... after a bit of texting back on forth I exited again and laid down in the grass in a bit of shade near River Road so I would make sure I didn't miss her. I was feeling a bit light headed. That's when a guy named James walked over and asked "Sir, are you OK? Do you need some water or a salt tablet?" I replied that I did. I walked over to his Subaru and had about 1/2 pint of warm water and a salt tablet. I didn't care about either. I needed both. I texted Christine that I had a ride and was coming to her. James drove me there. He was a fellow trail runner who had run up to the Dam and back from CP #4. He told me that he had had kidney failure duing an Iron Man once during the short drive up to CP #3.
I thanked him when we got up to CP #3 and saw the Equinox with its four ways flashing sitting right in the road. I made a beeline to the water in my running bag. Then ... I asked Christine where she had been. A bit of an argument ensued. She had been all worried about me. Well ... she did have her reasons for being worried since she hadn't seen me for 4 hours. She has had the unique perspective of following an ambulance transporting me to the Dansville ER not once (Sehgahunda 2010 - DNF at CP #3 due to a cracked rib) but twice (Sehgahunda 2011 - DNF at CP #6 due to overhydration ... yes, you can overhdyrate) when I tried and failed. I did succeed in Sehagunda 2012, Sehgahunda 2014 and every Dam Good Trail Race so far (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 ... knock on wood).
So ... what assumptions did I make? One, I assumed that Christine knew where she was, could read a map and use it to navigate to where I needed her to be. Two, I made the assumption that I would meet up with her so I didn't need to carry enough water and nutrition to last me for about 4 hours.
So ... I found out that she couldn't read the large map that I had plotted out, highlighted my route, and pointed where I wanted her to meet me. She explained that when she had left me she had driven north on the Park Rd to exit the LSP near Mount Morris, driven through Mount Morris to get to 436 to come down on the east side of LSP (which is a lot longer route than exiting at the Castile exit, making for 436-19A, getting into Portageville and going north on 436 to the Parade Ground entrance). Why? Because I guess she is a visual person who needs to be shown how to get somewhere and goes with what she knows. She said that she knows how to read a map, that she had waited for me at various spots, driven all around and hadn't seen me. Who knows where these spots were? Were they even on my route? There was only two spots I needed her to be and she wasn't at either one. Yes, I did cross her up on the second one by bailing early. I knew I couldn't have made CP #3. Basic map reading skills would have led her from CP #3 down the 2 or 3 miles on River Rd to CP #4.
I just shut up as much as I could ... this argument was going to get me anywhere. I was safe, not heading to the Dansville ER and headed home. I ate 3 PB&J sandwiches on the way back to Rochester.
So .. what did I learn? Well .. don't assume anything. Plan for more contingencies. I should have taken my hydration pack with enough Hammer Gels to last me the entire way. Then I would have been largely self sufficient. Christine not meeting me wouldn't have mattered and been a non-issue.
So ... Letchworth State Park almost claimed me as a victim again because of my assumptions and sheer stupidity. Thank goodness that James was there when I needed him. I will spare the dear reader my splits. Suffice to say they were slow (though I did run mile 5 in 9:51). I survived to trail run another day.
MOTG is in less than 2 weeks. I know most of the course now. I will have to be careful, hydrate well, take care of my nutrition and run/walk smart. I will have to give some consideraton to what I am going to need for the hours I expect to be out there, pack a drop bag for AS #3, DO NOT WING IT and finish! I will be on my own for the last 20 miles except for AS #4 and #5. So ... think positive thoughts! I gotta get some running mantras for the last 20 miles when my mojo will most likely be lagging.
Monday, 6/12/2017 and Tuesday, 6/13/2017: Rest days.
Monday was the usual rest day after 15 miles down in Letchworth and Tuesday was the usual rest day before a race ... nothing unusual. I do need to taper for MOTG ... though I don't like to taper.
I watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Cavs and the Warriors. The Warriors won the series, 4-1, link here. Lebron had 41 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists in Game 5 but it wasn't enough. He averaged a triple double (33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists) for the series and was probably considered for the Finals MVP but Kevin Durant (35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists) of the Warriors won it instead. The Warriors were just too much for the Cavs to handle with the addition of Durant.
Wednesday, 6/14/2017: 2 runs of 0.95 and 3.46 miles, 73F, 31% RH, 11 mph NNE wind, partly cloudy.
Tonight's race was Dirt Cheap #3 held at Lucien Morin Park on Empire Blvd next to MacGregor's. I wore my usual summer trail clothes: shorts, my yellow 2015 Phelps Sauerkraut short sleeve tech, calf sleeves, Darn Tough socks and Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes ... I stick with what works for me. I got there around 5:30 PM and got a nice parking spot within 100 feet of the start. I hung out with Tom Dutton and Andy Ciaio before the start and relaxed for a bit. Tom told me of a water hazard just after the left turn into single track after we run down the stone road for 1/4 mile. I took a warmup run of 0.95 mile at 11:18 (a bit slow since I stopped to survey the water hazard) pace, link here. Sure enough! There was a section of flooded single track for about 100 feet and mud beyond it. I bypassed it on my warmup run ... no need to get my feet wet before I had to. I went back to the Cruze and got my 20 ounce water bottle. It was hot in the woods and I knew I would need it during the race.
And ... we were off! I didn't sprint out like I usually do since I wanted to concentrate on just finishing the race. I was here just to have fun. So I let runners ahead of me ... I passed Tom and settled in behind Andy as we ran down the stone road. There was a brief slowdown before the water hazard and then I splashed through it just like everyone else. The water was shoe high .. splash, splash, splash! Then it was turn right and up, up, up! I was winded by the time I got to the top of that long first hill. I have run this course 16 times now in one version or another so I knew what to expect ... a short, twisty, turny, roots course with lots of ups, downs, almost no flats, lots of single track with almost no chance to pass which required your strict attention to your footing. So ... that is what I did. I stuck behind Andy for almost 2 miles and concentrated on staying upright. Andy wanted me to pass and I finally did. Then I took a misturn for about 50 feet and had to backtrack. I didn't have the energy to catch the eight or so runners who got ahead and I settled into just finishing. I was dripping when I got done with 3.46 miles in 36:44, 10:55 pace. I was only 19 seconds and 3 runners behind Andy. Another Dirt Cheap #3 in the books on a perfect night for a trail run!
I got some water from the Cruze and went into MacGregor's for some of their excellent post-race food: celery, carrots, bun, salad and pasta along with a cup of water. It filled me up while I talked with Andy and a guy who knew me, Chris Barry. I did OK according the official results: gun time of 37:43, chip time of 37:41, 80th out of 357, 3rd of 16 in my M 55-59 age group (hand calculated), link here.
I didn't stay too long and went straight home. My feet were still wet so I stripped and went straight to the shower to get all the mud off off me. I was a bit tired and my ankles were a bit cranky. I don't remember doing anything stupid but who knows?
Thursday, 6/15/2017: Rest day.
I got my order of a from DX.com of a CK11S Waterproof Blood Pressure Heart Rate Monitor Smart Bank - Bk today.
Yes, it's from China, only $27.68, has limited instructions, measures my steps into kilometers and kilocalories, doesn't export any data like a tcx or fit file anywhere, but it does work. Any calls, texts or Facebook posts does show up. The app is FitCloud and links to my Droid. I can take my O2 level, respiration, heart rate and blood pressure right from the app. I just can't export it. I probably should have just ordered a refurbished Garmin Vivosmart HR from Ebay for around $60. But I like to tinker and experiment sometimes. Oh well, I can manually put my daily steps into mapmyfitness.com ... I think. I found out that I have to manually write down my steps before midnight because they disappear otherwise.
Friday, 6/16/2017: Another rest day.
I thought about bringing my trail running gear with me to work but my wonky left ankle still felt funny so I bagged that idea.
I got my order of a 26 ounce serving of Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel from Hammer Nutrion today.
I absolutely love Hammer Gel! A woman named Brielle celebrated my second order by sending me a Hammer Flask and their booklet Guide to Success. OK .. it's not super expensive (only $2.39 plus a free booklet) but it's the thought that counts! I have two Hammer Flasks now so it's a bit OK if I lose one in my running bag, lol! I tolerate Hammer Gel well when on long runs and will be carrying both fully loaded Hammer Flasks when I tackle Many on the Genny.
Saturday, 6/17.2017: Date day and evening.
I could have gotten out on the bike in the morning but didn't. We got out later to take my darling wife, Christine, to New Nails. She got her french manicured nails relined and sharpened ... nice! Then we turned our outing into a date night by heading to The Original CharBroil House on Island Cottage (I had the marinated chicken and Christine had the fried chicken). We topped off the evening by going to see Wonder Woman, preview link here, at the Greece Ridge Regal.
A Groupon $10 for $20 deal helped. I thought the cashier at the Regal asked if we were over 16 so I said yes. We got a 20% discount. It was as we were walking away that I figured out that he asked if we were over 60. Well ... I will be in 3 months and Christine will be in 7 months so it wasn't too much of a stretch. Anyway ... Wonder Woman was awesome!!
I passed the blue blazes for Sehgahunda CP #5. I had my last Hammer Gel as I walked onward. I was thirsty and hungry ... not good signs if you want to run trail so I walked. I did trot downhill when I could. I did an assessment of my condition and decided to bail early at CP #4 instead of going onward to CP #3. I found that I had a little cell reception so I sent a text to Christine: "Meet me at Sehgahunda CP #4. ETA 30 minutes". I come upon the blue blazes for CP #4 and slowly headed up to River Rd. I came out of the woods at River Rd ... no Christine and just 2 cars off the road. I went back to sit in the shade ... confident that she would soon arrive. I texted her "Here." Well ... I expected her to drive down from CP #3 to CP #4 which is only about 2 miles on River Rd. Well ... after a bit of texting back on forth I exited again and laid down in the grass in a bit of shade near River Road so I would make sure I didn't miss her. I was feeling a bit light headed. That's when a guy named James walked over and asked "Sir, are you OK? Do you need some water or a salt tablet?" I replied that I did. I walked over to his Subaru and had about 1/2 pint of warm water and a salt tablet. I didn't care about either. I needed both. I texted Christine that I had a ride and was coming to her. James drove me there. He was a fellow trail runner who had run up to the Dam and back from CP #4. He told me that he had had kidney failure duing an Iron Man once during the short drive up to CP #3.
I thanked him when we got up to CP #3 and saw the Equinox with its four ways flashing sitting right in the road. I made a beeline to the water in my running bag. Then ... I asked Christine where she had been. A bit of an argument ensued. She had been all worried about me. Well ... she did have her reasons for being worried since she hadn't seen me for 4 hours. She has had the unique perspective of following an ambulance transporting me to the Dansville ER not once (Sehgahunda 2010 - DNF at CP #3 due to a cracked rib) but twice (Sehgahunda 2011 - DNF at CP #6 due to overhydration ... yes, you can overhdyrate) when I tried and failed. I did succeed in Sehagunda 2012, Sehgahunda 2014 and every Dam Good Trail Race so far (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 ... knock on wood).
So ... what assumptions did I make? One, I assumed that Christine knew where she was, could read a map and use it to navigate to where I needed her to be. Two, I made the assumption that I would meet up with her so I didn't need to carry enough water and nutrition to last me for about 4 hours.
So ... I found out that she couldn't read the large map that I had plotted out, highlighted my route, and pointed where I wanted her to meet me. She explained that when she had left me she had driven north on the Park Rd to exit the LSP near Mount Morris, driven through Mount Morris to get to 436 to come down on the east side of LSP (which is a lot longer route than exiting at the Castile exit, making for 436-19A, getting into Portageville and going north on 436 to the Parade Ground entrance). Why? Because I guess she is a visual person who needs to be shown how to get somewhere and goes with what she knows. She said that she knows how to read a map, that she had waited for me at various spots, driven all around and hadn't seen me. Who knows where these spots were? Were they even on my route? There was only two spots I needed her to be and she wasn't at either one. Yes, I did cross her up on the second one by bailing early. I knew I couldn't have made CP #3. Basic map reading skills would have led her from CP #3 down the 2 or 3 miles on River Rd to CP #4.
I just shut up as much as I could ... this argument was going to get me anywhere. I was safe, not heading to the Dansville ER and headed home. I ate 3 PB&J sandwiches on the way back to Rochester.
So .. what did I learn? Well .. don't assume anything. Plan for more contingencies. I should have taken my hydration pack with enough Hammer Gels to last me the entire way. Then I would have been largely self sufficient. Christine not meeting me wouldn't have mattered and been a non-issue.
So ... Letchworth State Park almost claimed me as a victim again because of my assumptions and sheer stupidity. Thank goodness that James was there when I needed him. I will spare the dear reader my splits. Suffice to say they were slow (though I did run mile 5 in 9:51). I survived to trail run another day.
MOTG is in less than 2 weeks. I know most of the course now. I will have to be careful, hydrate well, take care of my nutrition and run/walk smart. I will have to give some consideraton to what I am going to need for the hours I expect to be out there, pack a drop bag for AS #3, DO NOT WING IT and finish! I will be on my own for the last 20 miles except for AS #4 and #5. So ... think positive thoughts! I gotta get some running mantras for the last 20 miles when my mojo will most likely be lagging.
Monday, 6/12/2017 and Tuesday, 6/13/2017: Rest days.
Monday was the usual rest day after 15 miles down in Letchworth and Tuesday was the usual rest day before a race ... nothing unusual. I do need to taper for MOTG ... though I don't like to taper.
I watched Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Cavs and the Warriors. The Warriors won the series, 4-1, link here. Lebron had 41 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists in Game 5 but it wasn't enough. He averaged a triple double (33.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 10.0 assists) for the series and was probably considered for the Finals MVP but Kevin Durant (35.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists) of the Warriors won it instead. The Warriors were just too much for the Cavs to handle with the addition of Durant.
Wednesday, 6/14/2017: 2 runs of 0.95 and 3.46 miles, 73F, 31% RH, 11 mph NNE wind, partly cloudy.
Tonight's race was Dirt Cheap #3 held at Lucien Morin Park on Empire Blvd next to MacGregor's. I wore my usual summer trail clothes: shorts, my yellow 2015 Phelps Sauerkraut short sleeve tech, calf sleeves, Darn Tough socks and Salomon SpeedCross 3 trail shoes ... I stick with what works for me. I got there around 5:30 PM and got a nice parking spot within 100 feet of the start. I hung out with Tom Dutton and Andy Ciaio before the start and relaxed for a bit. Tom told me of a water hazard just after the left turn into single track after we run down the stone road for 1/4 mile. I took a warmup run of 0.95 mile at 11:18 (a bit slow since I stopped to survey the water hazard) pace, link here. Sure enough! There was a section of flooded single track for about 100 feet and mud beyond it. I bypassed it on my warmup run ... no need to get my feet wet before I had to. I went back to the Cruze and got my 20 ounce water bottle. It was hot in the woods and I knew I would need it during the race.
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| Wave 1 start from the front ... photo courtesy of Kim Smith of Fleet Feet Rochester |
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| Wave 1 start from the rear ... photo courtesy of Kim Smith of Fleet Feet Rochester |
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| The finish in 37:43 ... photo courtesy of Kim Smith of Fleet Feet Rochester |
I didn't stay too long and went straight home. My feet were still wet so I stripped and went straight to the shower to get all the mud off off me. I was a bit tired and my ankles were a bit cranky. I don't remember doing anything stupid but who knows?
Thursday, 6/15/2017: Rest day.
I got my order of a from DX.com of a CK11S Waterproof Blood Pressure Heart Rate Monitor Smart Bank - Bk today.
Yes, it's from China, only $27.68, has limited instructions, measures my steps into kilometers and kilocalories, doesn't export any data like a tcx or fit file anywhere, but it does work. Any calls, texts or Facebook posts does show up. The app is FitCloud and links to my Droid. I can take my O2 level, respiration, heart rate and blood pressure right from the app. I just can't export it. I probably should have just ordered a refurbished Garmin Vivosmart HR from Ebay for around $60. But I like to tinker and experiment sometimes. Oh well, I can manually put my daily steps into mapmyfitness.com ... I think. I found out that I have to manually write down my steps before midnight because they disappear otherwise.
Friday, 6/16/2017: Another rest day.
I thought about bringing my trail running gear with me to work but my wonky left ankle still felt funny so I bagged that idea.
I got my order of a 26 ounce serving of Apple Cinnamon Hammer Gel from Hammer Nutrion today.
I absolutely love Hammer Gel! A woman named Brielle celebrated my second order by sending me a Hammer Flask and their booklet Guide to Success. OK .. it's not super expensive (only $2.39 plus a free booklet) but it's the thought that counts! I have two Hammer Flasks now so it's a bit OK if I lose one in my running bag, lol! I tolerate Hammer Gel well when on long runs and will be carrying both fully loaded Hammer Flasks when I tackle Many on the Genny.
Saturday, 6/17.2017: Date day and evening.
I could have gotten out on the bike in the morning but didn't. We got out later to take my darling wife, Christine, to New Nails. She got her french manicured nails relined and sharpened ... nice! Then we turned our outing into a date night by heading to The Original CharBroil House on Island Cottage (I had the marinated chicken and Christine had the fried chicken). We topped off the evening by going to see Wonder Woman, preview link here, at the Greece Ridge Regal.
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| Chris Pine and Gal Garot in Womder Woman |
