Sunday, April 10, 2016

You stay Dirty, Kilns.

     I was working on my second cup of coffee, sitting in bed watching the sun breaking through the clouds from my bedroom window. My wife was still laying in bed, where she would still be when I left the house. The burger I inhaled at the Golden Eagle pub the night before was still making it's way through my digestive system; I was concerned it wouldn't make a reappearance in time to make for a comfortable race. I had been away at work for three days. A mix of sleep deprivation and unusually busy days kept me away. When it comes down to it I'm just tired of driving, that's why I chose to sleep on a couch in the basement of the barracks for two nights. Beside producing a fitful 2 nights of sleep, it also deprived me of the opportunity to get in my desired shake out runs. I didn't know how today would pan out, I was making up excuses to stay put, in my bed, all day.
     The previous weekend I had ventured out with Todd, Ben and Joel to tackle the first 17 miles of the Lost Turkey trail. This first section of the LTT is net downhill. My longest run in months had been 10 road miles. I'm out of shape, but I wasn't aware how bad it was until 7 miles in. This knowledge, as well as the bulge above my waistband, toyed with me the lasts few days.
     Despite my trepidation I pulled on my shorts, layered up and set out for Canoe Creek and the first true trail race in the Altoona area, now in the fifth year. It's become iconic, drawing a steadily increasing crowd each year.
     Our weather authority had predicted strong winds and a couple inches of snow for the entirety of the race. Thankfully, sunshine continued into the first lap and even after the snow/sleet began to fall, it never got to be as bad as expected. This race has a history of good weather; this year being no exception considering the circumstances.
     It has been a while since I had the opportunity to see the local running crowd and it was good to exchange words, hugs and handshakes.
     I was fortunate to be representing Mile Level Physical Therapy for the race. I donned my shirt, got a picture with the rest of the team and headed to the start line. Ethan provided the pre-race announcements via bullhorn which, oddly, go largely unheard by those they area meant to direct. Everyone is too happy, to excited to listen, like kids ready for recess.
     9 AM on the dot we were given the "Go" and took off across the open field for the cross country style start. Less than a quarter mile in the first section of sucking mud claimed a right shoe belonging to fellow MLPT runner Pat Campion. I retrieved the shoe and tossed it to him. Pat is in much better shape than I; he quickly caught and passed me. We would, however, play leap frog over the next twelve miles and finish closely together.
     I felt pretty rough for the first few miles. The combination of burger, tight muscles and lack of fitness, as well as my decision to drink nothing but coffee all morning, was weighing on me. We passed the kilns standing guard to the right, silent and cold in the increasing cloudiness. Middle Earth, a beautiful, short section of trail, lay just behind the kilns around mile 7 or 8. We continued on to the first climb, the switchback up Moore's Hill. The top reached, we headed down the long, flowing section of singletrack to the first creek crossing. This year, due to the incorrect weather forecast, the actual creek crossings were nixed, opting instead for the new metal bridge. This next section, the Beaver Pond trail, is notoriously muddy. It was made better this year by the addition of shale in a few of the trouble spots. The largest mud hole, however, was right where it always was. Even with the mud I began to settle into a groove. My legs loosened, my lungs adjusted and I began using passing people as motivation to keep motoring on. The rest of the course came quickly: the dam, the roller coaster and the crossing at the lower dam. The dirt roads on the back side of the course gave me the opportunity to speed up and put the first loop away.
     I grabbed a cup of Tailwind from the man, Rick Eichelberger, and set off for the second loop. I was here I caught up with Josh Piotti, who was tackling his first trail race. By now I was tired. I decided before I started the race that anything under 3 hours was acceptable, under 2:30 would be great. I hadn't been monitoring my watch, but I knew I had ran the first lap too hard and had plenty of time. I hiked the climb and descended into my least favorite trail, Smith Hillside. Although the course was less muddy than previous years, Smith's is always slick and, due to the grade of the trail, the back half is always the worst section to descend. The runners behind me, specifically the young female I had been playing leap frog with, witnessed a spectacle. While attempting to bypass a section that looked especially slick I deviated from the trail into the loose leaves above the trail. My feet immediately shot out from under me and I slid on my side across the trail, shirt flying, gut out; a spectacle. I recovered, thankful I never did have much pride to bruise, and tiptoed down the rest of Smith's. I managed to slow jog up the entire next switchback climb to the bottom of the quarry climb.
     A slow hike led up the steepest climb of the course. Past the cave, up around the bend and we were descending the long hill to the water tower. I've never been a downhill runner and it was here I lost ground to runners behind me that I was not able to recover. At the bottom Rob Shirk directed us around a small stump and I again hike to the top of what the course map refers to as the "Horse's Back". Another steep downhill brought the course out on top of the kilns and to the small section of Middle Earth. Mattern's climb came quickly and I could hear the runners behind me losing ground as I cruised to the bottom of the climb. A hike up, a short downhill and another short hike up led to the switchback downhill section that leads back to the first creek crossing. After being passed by a male runner somewhere near my age on the downhill, I found myself alone as I entered into the Beaver Ponds. Being youth mentor day, some trout fishermen lined the creek, ignoring the idiots running around the lake on the increasingly cold day. At least we were moving.
     I was alone for most of the last few miles, catching Pat Campion and another runner as they stretched by the southern boat launch area. We headed off together and sped through the second traverse of the dam and rollercoaster. We caught up with a few 5 milers who were having some issue crossing the spillway. Once past, I reached the top of the steps on the north side of the spillway.
    I realized here that my body had quit a few miles prior; my mind and the desire to be done were the only thing keeping me going. I managed up the last short climb and back onto the short section of gravel road. I must have slowed significantly because as I rounded the turn into the home stretch I saw a large group coming up fast behind me. I hammered down (a relative term, mind you) and cruised across the grassy area of the main parking lot. The mats beeped as I crossed the finish line and I waited patiently for the young volunteers to untangle my finisher's medal, a unique wooden medallion engraved with the race logo.
    I was happy to be done, happy to receive a third place rock for my effort. I again had the opportunity to sit and talk with the other runners. We ate pizza and huddled together for warmth. Once we realized our collective body heat didn't amount to much we patted each other on the back, congratulated each other and limped to our respective warm vehicles.

     It was another well executed race. The course, with the snow and mud, was beautiful. Matt Lipsy related to me how the trees looked to be budding with white flowers, although the cold and snow were actually prolonging the dormancy of the trees.
    Unlike the flora and fauna, the cold brought out the strength of the runners who took on the 5 mile and half marathon courses of the Kiln. We are a strong, unruly breed of humans and I'm glad I was able to enjoy the company of others like myself again.

     Thanks to all the RDs and volunteers that brought another great race. See you next Spring.