Training Log Archive: davelevine

25K Hyner View Trail Challenge

I did not prepare adequately for this event. I really didn't prepare or train at all. I was too wrapped up in doing other things. I was on the wait list for over 3 months before I finally made my way to the top of the list. I should have trained during that time but I didn't. Three weeks before the race, when I had decided it was time to get serious about training I got sick. It was about 10 days before the race when I started to feel healthy enough to train but the only sort of exercise beyond my daily walks of 1.5 to 2 miles that I got was during the Cunningham Falls orienteering event on Easter Sunday.

All this is a round about way of saying I was not prepared and I knew it but I had already paid for the event and I wanted to do it. It was my fifth consecutive 25K HVTC.

I am happy that I finished but it was my longest time for this event, about 45 minutes longer than last year and 24 longer than my time in 2015. In all fairness to myself it was a tougher slog not just because I wasn't physically prepared for it. It rained the night before. It was pretty muddy and the water level in the streams (in Johnson Run) were much higher than in most of the 4 previous years. Almost every stream crossing, and there were probably 15-20 of them, involved going anywhere from ankle to knee-deep through icy cold water. There were also a number of trails that had running water in them.

My left hip was bothering me a bit and I knew that might cause me some problems. My right shin was also bothering me but I didn't notice it until after I the race had begun. My left knee tightened up during the race. All of these things helped to slow me down. I did considerably less running downhill than in previous years.

I knew I had to pace myself if I wanted to finish the race. I was very close to the back of the pack for the first 2 miles, until we reached the bottom of Humble Hill. The trail widened there and I started to pass people as I climbed first Humble Hill and then on up to Hyner View. It took me 50 minutes to get to the base of Humble hill and another 40 minutes to get up to Hyner View, roughly speaking the 4 mile mark. I didn't stop for more than a few seconds before I started descending the backside of Hyner View.

I was passed by a number of people who I had either passed on the way up Humble Hill or at the first aid station at the top of Hyner View. I had to step off the trail for about 30 seconds to let a group of runners who were carrying another runner on a stretcher. I don't know what happened but I'm guessing the the runner slipped, fell, and hit his or her head.

Johnson Run really wore me down. The stream crossings and the cold water got to me. I kept up at pretty good walking pace but eventually, after I had passed a few people, I had to slow down and start taking little quick breaks of 5 to 10 seconds. The quick breaks helped a lot and by the time I arrived at the second aid station, near the halfway point, I was feeling better. I ate some trail mix and a quarter of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I also drank some water and Gatorade and felt much better a few minutes later as I started to head down Postdraft. I had been on the course for about 3 hrs and 30 minutes at that point. I didn't think at that point that I would finish the race in 2 hours.

I was first passed by 50K runners along Johnson Run. Many more passed me on the way down post draft. I usually stepped aside as best I could. The trail was narrow. It wasn't as gravelly as I remember it being in past years. I made it to the bottom of Postdraft and started to climb up the trail along Cleveland Hollow. I employed the same technique I did before the second aid station. I would walk for a minute and then stop for 10 seconds before moving on. I was breathing hard and it was not easy but I made it to the top of Cleveland Hollow and then SOB without killing myself. I took lots of breathers on SOB, but not very long ones.

At the top of SOB I had a little more to eat and drink: pretzels, PB&J, and some water. I don't think I stopped there for very long but I wasn't keeping strict track of time. I had about 4 miles to go and if I remember correctly I was about 4 hrs and 35 minutes into the race. My thinking was that there was no way I was going to finish this in less than another hour and 20 minutes. I trudged along the top of the ridge. There were no more major climbs, just one big descent, down the Huff Run Trail which accounted for about 1.5 of the final 2 miles of the course.

I had to step aside a number of times for faster runners both before and as I descended Huff Run. I made it to the bottom and still had about a half mile to the finish line. I walked the whole way. I tried breaking into a run right at the end but I quickly gave up and walked the last fifty feet across the finish line.

I wish I had been better prepared for this race. I probably should not have done it but there is a certain amount of pride that comes with finishing a race like this. It is an ass-kicker even if you are in great shape.

I hung out for about an hour and got something to eat before I headed back to my car. It was not a fun walk back to the car. I changed my clothes (my boots and socks were still wet from Johnson Run a few hours before) and then headed home.

Results: http://falconracetiming.com/racetimes/Hyner%20Chal...

BP: 106 / 68

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BP: 99 / 68

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BP: 104 / 68

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BP: 100 / 66

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