2018 - My year in Running and Cycling

Tarwheel Century

Willis River 50k

With one more event in my schedule (Seashore 50k on 12-15) I decided to do a year-end retrospective. What went right, what went wrong and what did I learn?

I felt great when I signed up for the Georgia Death Race and the Ute 100. They were my two big goal races for 2018. In both cases I decided not to make the trips and cut my losses due to injury. I finally figured out prior to the Outer Banks Marathon for me it is better to show up undertrained and uninjured than to be trained and injured.

The Barkley Fall Classic would have been a goal race, but I've been on the waitlist two years in a row. At least I got to do it twice, with one marathon finish and one DNF.

The year definitely had some highlights. I got to run Grayson Highlands Half with my daughter, I rode Pedal for the Pig with my son and I did the Dogwood and CHKD races with Marie.

I still really like trail races. I did fine in all of my half marathons.

I DNF'd Eastern Divide 50k, but it didn't feel like a DNF. I got to run about 16 miles in beautiful mountains until my knee started bothering me from miles of continuous downhill running.

I DNF'd Night Train 50k. I felt fine, but once the sun went down I had no desire to run another 15 miles by myself. It just didn't seem worth it.

Highlights on the bike would have to be the two mountain events. I've already signed up for Gran Fondo Alleghany and will probably sign up the Mountain Mama Roadbike Challenge again. The great thing about the mountain rides is the scenery. You suffer going uphill, but you're usually rewarded with some nice long downhill stretches.

I'll probably do some more of the flat centuries just because they're nearby. Tarwheel Century was my least favorite due to the horrible winds.


1-21 Willis River 50k
2-25 Colonial Half Marathon
3-31 Georgia Death Race (DNS)
3-31 Dogwood 12-Hour
4-14 Tarwheel Century Ride
5-6 Grayson Highlands Half Marathon
5-12 CHKD Run/Walk for the Kids
5-20 Bust the Banks Half Marathon
5-26 Pedal for the Pig Century Ride
6-16 Eastern Divide Ultra 50k (DNF)
6-30 Night Train 50k (DNF)
7-21 Gran Fondo Alleghany (AG 3rd)
8-4 Mountain Mama Roadbike Challenge
8-11 Ute 100 (DNS)
9-8 Surry Century Ride
9-28 OBX Cycle Races 40k & 20k (AG 1st)
10-20 OBX Century Ride for Life (Cancelled due to TS Michael debris)
11-11 OBX Marathon
12-15 Seashore 50k

Two Lane Blacktop - My 2018 Tarwheel Century Ride

I never imagined I would become a road cyclist.

Becoming a mountain biker after being a trail runner felt very natural. Both groups share the love of hilly single track trails, preferably in the woods away from civilization.

Becoming a road cyclist did not feel natural. I always felt like an imposter, especially when it came to the colorful outfits road cyclists wear. (I know the idea is to be seen by drivers on the road.) Also road cyclists speak a different language.

One of the rites of passage to becoming a "real" road cyclist is to complete a century ride. Ultrarunners call it a 100-miler, cyclists call it a Century ride. Go figure. Also note it's a ride, not a race. Obviously there are cycle races too.

Anyway the point of a century ride is to cover a predetermined route with support. Ultramarathons have Aid Stations, Century Rides have SAG (Support and Gear) stops. 

I completed the OBX Century Ride last fall and had a blast. I immediately started looking for more. Unfortunately the OBX Century Ride was the last one of the season. Finally I found the Tarwheel Century Ride near Elizabeth City, NC on April 14 and signed up for it. There are lower mileage options, such as a Metric Century (62 miles.) In ultrarunning it would called be a 100k. I think they also had a 33-mile option.

T-Shirt

When I arrived at Camden County High School for the start I was surprised at how many cyclists there were. I later read there were about 270 riders. I spotted a rider who had done the OBX Century and we chatted for a while.

Getting ready

There was supposed to be a pre-ride briefing but it never happened. Everyone just spontaneously pulled out of the parking lot at 8:00 a.m and took off down the road.

We were given paper cue sheets which tell us where to turn but they weren't necessary. As long as you paid attention there were color coded arrows on the road telling where to go. Century riders followed the yellow markings, Metric Century riders followed the blue markings, etc.

For the majority of the time I rode by myself. My pace didn't seem to match anyone else's. I wasn't pushing hard but I wasn't going slow either. I was a little jealous when I saw club riders in groups taking turns at the front pulling their groups into the wind.

Speaking of the wind, it was out of the SSW which was exactly the direction we were going for a lot of the first two or three hours. It wasn't bad at first but got progressively stronger throughout the day.

I was glad to finally get to the first SAG stop. It looked a lot like an ultramarathon aid station. I felt right at home there. It had all of the usual pretzels, cookies, candy, etc. Apparently this stop is famous for its deviled eggs. The lady there told me to have as many as I wanted so I ate four halves. Was that wrong?

SAG stop #1

They put up stands to park your bike on. It reminded me of a triathlon.

My bike

After heading into the wind all morning I finally reached the turnaround point at the Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound.

Southern end of the course

After a while I reached the 2nd SAG stop at a park. Off in the distance you could see the giant blimp hangar. My photo doesn't do it justice. Thankfully, they had spray on sunscreen there which I applied liberally. Otherwise I would have fried. It got very warm after lunch. I doubt many people were used to that heat.

Blimp hangar in the distance

Much of the ride is on country roads, past farms. When it's open like this you have no relief from the wind.

Two lane blacktop

Before the third SAG stop a guy pulled up beside me in a pickup and asked if I was okay. I said yes, but I was sick of the wind. Because there were a lot of loops I kept finding myself heading into the wind. It had to be 25mph at times. I kept having to downshift. A couple of times out there I remember thinking I should have done the Singletrack Maniac 50k instead. It would have been easier!

The 3rd SAG had a real treat - ice cold raspberry smoothies! The volunteers there were super friendly and funny. It was a nice break.

I finally finished after 7 hours and 32 minutes. Would I do it again? Probably, but I would hope for less wind.

My Strava track

Organizer photo - I'm the 3rd rider back

2018 Willis River 21k / 35k / 50k

I'm a big fan of Dan Pulskamp's races. When he announced on his Virginia Adventures LLC Facebook page he was assuming directorship of the Willis River 50k trail race I signed up almost immediately. The race would be put on as an old-school fatass event. Meaning there would be no entry fees, no race shirts and no medals. Fine with me. Each runner would donate some food for the aid stations. Dan asked for small donations to cover miscellaneous expenses such as insurance. We had to pay the $5 parking fee.

When I arrived at Bear Creek State Park near Cumberland, VA at 7:30 it was a chilly 31 degrees. I met Jeff L. and his wife in the parking lot. When I signed in Dan told me this wasn't going to be a "concierge" event like the Night Train 50k was. He said this would be a "masters level" technical trail run. Somehow I had it in my head that this would be another "rail trail" event. An easy, mostly flat run on a path where there used to be railroad tracks. Wrong.

The Willis River

I met Craig R. right before the pre-race briefing.

Craig and Jim Selfie

The Trail Head

I enjoyed the course a lot due to its variety. A good portion was lightly travelled single track through woodlands and along the river. The trail was marked with single white blazes. You really had to pay attention to stay on course. Well at least I did. I was running solo about 70% of the time. Every so often there would be a double white blaze indicating a major change in direction. Dan and his crew had also put up some white confidence streamers where the trail might be confusing.

On the Willis River Trail

One of several icy stream crossings

Probably the most fun for me was the stream crossings. There was no way to avoid getting your feet wet, unless you searched for a better location upstream or downstream. I think most of us just blasted through. After the first time it was no big deal.

Omar asked me to photograph him crossing the stream

There were some pretty decent hills. My Garmin battery died at mile 17, but going by some other's posts there was about 1,900 ft. of climbing in the 35k option.

There was a dirt road section which was a nice relief from the technical single track.

And there was a section that had been recently logged. I wish I had taken a photo. There was no shade there and it looked like a foreign, muddy war zone.

The green reminded me spring will come

The course was an out and back. On the way out there were some shaded areas that still had quite a bit of snow. I figured I would get some pretty photos on the way back. But no, it had all melted by then.

For most of the way back there were three women together just far enough behind me that I could hear them but couldn't see them. Finally, with about two miles to go they passed me. I think I was the last 35k finisher and my time was about 6:30.

I really enjoyed this event and highly recommend it.

I Bought a Bike on the Internet

As soon as I finished the Outer Banks Century Ride for Life I knew I was hooked on road cycling. I decided to look for a reasonably priced road bike that I could use to do more century (100 mile) rides. I knew I wanted an aluminum frame, disk brakes, wide-ish tires and a Shimano 105 groupset.

I visited a local bike shop but their prices seemed higher than I was willing to spend.

I found a Raleigh Merit 3 on Amazon for over $500 off retail and ordered it. Two days later the box arrived. Raleigh is not a glamorous brand but hey most bikes including the high-end ones come from Taiwan or China.

Bike In A Box

The bike was 85% assembled and arrived with no damage. Basically, you put the handlebars, seat, front wheel, pedals and front brake on yourself. They even include the tools you need in the box.

I put the whole thing together without reading the instructions.

Almost Done

There were a few part parts remaining that I wasn't sure about until I chatted with my son.

Mystery pieces

The black rubber things are for routing the front brake cable through the carbon forks. The hollow tube centers the brake cable on the connection to the front brake. The two shiny pieces are end caps that you crimp onto the cable ends so they don't fray.

It took me quite a while to get the front and rear derailleurs adjusted properly as I had never done that before. I kind of expected them to be pretty close out of the box but they were way off. I watched a couple of YouTube videos and got everything working correctly.

After a couple of short rides I can say I'm very happy with the bike. It shifts great. It has a little bit of elastic in the stem and seat post to absorb bumps. The handlebars are very comfortable due to their oval shape and a lot of cushioning.

All Done

The Last Runner - My 2017 Barkley Fall Classic Experience

The sun was going down and I knew I was on the wrong side of Bird Mountain. I hadn't seen nor heard another soul in two hours. Time was quickly running out on getting my second BFC Marathon finish. At least I still had some water. Had I made a navigational error? Where were the course sweepers? If I was on the wrong trail they wouldn't find me! Would I be sleeping under leaves tonight? How had it come down to this?

Let me begin in the beginning. For the 2017 BFC I changed up my training. I wasn't so concerned about just logging flat road miles. I was more concerned about running hilly singletrack. I did a lot of runs at Freedom Park. I also made a trip out to Humpback Rocks on the Blue Ridge Parkway with Rob for a little mountain training. I also did a lot of lunges, squats, glute bridges, etc. to get ready for the expected steep climbs. We wouldn't know exactly what the course would be until packet pickup where the give you a map.

Steve Durbin made a post to the BFC Facebook page about the possibility of camping at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. Supposedly they were trying run water lines for showers. That seemed like a cool idea and a great way to save some money. Craig and I were both talking about camping there.

A few days before the race I decided I would drive to Oak Ridge, TN and stay in a hotel on Thursday night and then camp out Friday before the race and Saturday after the race.

The drive to Tennessee was uneventful. I remember being amused at the Dolly Parton music blasting at the TN welcome center on I-81.

Friday morning I left Oak Ridge and decided to go to the prison first to check on the camping situation. I drove around a curve and caught a glimpse of Rat Jaw in the distance. It gave me chills.

Meth Lab Hill viewed from Highway 116

I pulled up at the prison and saw two porta-johns, two tents and no sign of showers. I decided I wouldn't be camping there. I decided to go check out the park and then drive to packet pickup afterwards.

View from the main road

Here's your sign

I parked at the ranger station and who should I meet? It was John! We climbed Rat Jaw together two years previously.

With John at the famous yellow gate

We each bought some stuff and then decided to walk up to the yellow gate to take some pictures.

Stay On Trail!

Bird Mountain Sign

We eventually walked up to the start of North Bird Mountain Trail. We met someone who had already been to packet pickup. He showed us the course map. Instead of starting out on N. Bird Mountain Trail the course had been rearranged and we would be finishing up the race on N. Bird Mountain Trail.

Hanging out with Laz at packet pickup

I went to packet pickup and got a selfie with Laz. I asked him if he ever imagined that he would be famous. He said no, he and Raw Dog were just two hillbillies who put on a race.

I think Laz is really good at sizing up people. In 2015 he told me to make sure I had plenty of water, but I didn't listen and ran out. I mentioned something about the course change and coming back on N. Bird Mountain Trail. He told me it was going to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. He was right of course.

Keith M. Dunn - he live tweets the Big Barkley

I was happy I also got to meet Keith M. Dunn. I have followed him on twitter for years. He live tweets the Big Barkley. It's about the only way to find out what's going on.

I decided to camp out behind the American Legion Hall where packet pickup was located. It was a big mistake. It was so noisy I hardly got any sleep before the race. I remember being in my tent at 10:00 p.m. trying to fall asleep and thinking how weird it was hearing Laz chatting with someone about 20 ft away.

On race morning I got up and ate breakfast at the American Legion Hall and then drove over to the park. I saw Craig, John and others before the start. Then we were off.

We went on old Mac Trail first. It didn't take long for me to realize this would not be my day. I just didn't feel right. Somewhere along the way I tripped and gashed my knee on a rock. When I got to the first aid station a ranger asked if I was really going to attempt Rat Jaw with my knee cut. I said of course I would.

Coming down to the left turn onto Testicle Spectacle

This year I decided not to take any photos during the race. I knew from 2015 that photos just don't do it justice. It's hard to show how steep those mountains are in two dimensions.

Once we got to Testicle Spectacle I started feeling better. I enjoyed getting to the bottom and crossing the river before reaching the aid station at the church. I met Tasha and we climbed back up Testicle together. We split up somewhere going down Meth Lab Hill.

Somewhere on Testicle Spectacle

At the bottom of Meth Lab you get on a little pavement and run to the prison. I went through the prison, over the wall on a ladder and then took the tunnel under the prison. I have to say I was underwhelmed by the tunnel. One good thing though it was a chance to cool off before climbing Rat Jaw.

I climbed Rat Jaw with Tasha. It was pretty hot and there were bees all around us. Fortunately the bees didn't sting. At some point Tasha gave me some salt which really helped.

Two thirds up Rat Jaw

I think all of my squats and lunges paid off. Testicle and Rat Jaw seemed much easier this time.

After Rat Jaw I didn't see Tasha much more. I made a quick stop at Tubb Springs aid station and headed for the Garden Spot. I was with a guy who does a lot of rucking. We came to a spot where the trail went straight but also had a branch to the left going up. We should have gone left but we went straight because we could see lots of fresh tracks going that way. After about 15 minutes we met a group that said to go back. They had been lost back there for over an hour. So we retraced our steps and went up to the Garden Spot to get our bibs punched. We probably wasted a half hour going the wrong way.

Then we headed for the Bald Knob Aid Station. There were probably six or so of us running together. Somewhere along the way everyone started worrying we were on the wrong trail. It was almost like mass hysteria in the group. I think I was the only one who had run BFC before. I said no, we're on the right trail. I recognized that we had just crossed the Son of Bitch Ditch. They finally calmed down and seemed to believe me. We kind of split up after that. It seemed like it took forever to get to Bald Knob. I got something to eat and took off.

All of the sudden I was out there by myself. I remember hearing loud noises and realizing it was giant acorns hitting the ground.

It was here I started thinking the thoughts from my first paragraph. Eventually three course sweepers caught up to me. It was Hiram, who I had met last time, Dusty and another guy with trekking poles. I wasn't moving well at all. I was actually leaned over. They set me down and we had the ultra talk. Dusty started asking questions. "Have you been eating?" Yes. "Have you been drinking?" Yes. "If you don't mind a girl asking, have you been peeing?" Yes. I lied. I hadn't gone since before the prison. Dusty gave me salt and some trail mix to eat. Eventually I ran out of water and Hiram gave me his. They guy with the trekking poles gave them to me to use. He eventually took off for the finish. Hiram and Dusty were very nice to me and made sure I made down off the mountain.

I remember asking Hiram how much further it was. He said it was another six miles with a major climb involved. I think I groaned.

I had always wondered what it would be like to be on the trails of Frozen Head after dark. Well I got to find out. I was kind of embarrassed but Dusty and Hiram said it could happen to anyone. They even joked about Dusty causing Hiram to do his slowest ever Barkley loop.

We kept going and saw someone approaching. It was a ranger coming to find out why the sweepers hadn't radioed in. The FRS radios they have don't carry well in those mountains. I remember the ranger calling the other rangers saying the sweepers were bringing the last runner down from the mountain.

Finally we made it back. I think Hiram said it was 9:44. I was supposed to be finished by 8:20 so no BFC Marathon for me this time.

I think my main issue was not eating enough and not getting enough salt in relationship to all of the water I drank.

I really appreciate the sweepers and rangers making sure I got down off the mountain okay.

There you have it.

Goodbye Frozen Head. How many hearts have you broken?

My 2017 Grayson Highlands Half Marathon

For 2017 I decided to sign up for the half marathon on Sunday, May 7. That way I wouldn't need to use vacation time to travel the six or so hours to southwestern Virginia. As an added bonus the half marathon had a 9:00 a.m. starting time. 

I waited too long to make hotel reservations so I ended up staying in a run down Rodeway Inn in Galax, VA. It was not deluxe. The prior year Marie and I stayed in a nice hotel in Independence, VA which was a lot closer to the park.

The Pinnacle

I'm glad I chose the half marathon. It was chilly but had mostly sunny skies. The 50k on Saturday had snow, sleet and generally inclement weather.

My first view inside the park

When I arrived at the park the temperature was 38 degrees - very unexpected for the month of May. Packet pickup was very windy and chilly. I went back to my car to stay warm until the start.

Run Bum

Just like last year Run Bum gave the pre-race brief standing on the trunk of his car. He told us we should stop and take pictures along the course. This is not what you normally hear at the start of a race. He said this was a scenic trail run not a Boston Qualifier. Then we were sent on our way.

A short run on pavement to begin the race

Run Bum really knows how to lay out scenic courses. I think that's why he named his company Run Bum Tours. 

It didn't take long until we were at the scenic overlook shown below.

The first of many overlooks

Then we encountered our first stream crossing. There was a runner who had obviously never done a mountain trail race before. She asked me where to go and I told her we have to run across the stream. I enjoyed seeing the look of surprise on her face.

The first stream crossing

Then we ran up along side a really nice waterfall. The trail there was muddy, rooty and gnarly. Lots of fun!

A waterfall

 Above the waterfall was some of nicest singletrack I have ever been on.

Singletrack above the waterfall 

Finally we made it to Massie Gap where the feral ponies live. You're not supposed to get too close to them, but they don't seem to mind being photographed. It looked like a lot of them were ready to give birth.

Feral ponies

More feral ponies

Massie Gap

A runner I met from Crozet, VA

Another stream crossing

A small waterfall

Climbing up toward the finish

The highest race in Virgina - 5,000 ft,

The three mile climb back up toward the finish line is pretty steep. Once you get to the top you're not done yet. Run Bum then sends you out on a loop to some rocks where there are incredible views like the ones shown below.

Then you run through a section of woods to the finish line. I noticed there was still some snow there from the day before.

Snow near the finish line

My GPS track

I highly recommend either the 50k or the half. Both are spectacular.

Finisher medal and shirt