Notes
Riverlands 100 Trail Race. I was the captain of 2 Bobs, 2 Steves, and a Glenn. I had to run the last leg because Abby graduated from UMaine today, Yay! It was a great day, cold in the morning though like 35 degrees. Glen ran the first leg and did it in 3:30, great time. Steve L. ran next I think he was under 3:50, great for him. Bob A. was next he also finished well, 3:41 although his hamstring cramped up the last 4 miles. Bob P. ran before me, he messaged me that he was starting a little after 5 and was hoping to finish around 8:15. We got home from Bangor around 5, I had all my stuff ready, my eyes were sleepy from driving and getting up at 5. I laid down and tried to take a nap, but I couldn't fall asleep, so I got up and headed down to the Riverlands. I hung out Bob and Glenn. Steve and Jeannie L. came to see Bob finish and me start. The guys were talking about taking tums while running and Bob said he should have taken S-caps at the aid stations, so that was good advice for me. My stomach was a little iffy the last two longs runs. I had taken an S-cap before I left the house, and I took a tums from Bob as I was getting ready. It was already getting cold, just right for running but cold for standing around. I jumped around trying to stay warm. My goal was to finish between 4 and 4:15 hours based on how bad I felt at the group run and the fact that it was dark. Bob finally came in, he handed me the bracelate and off I went with cheers behind me. I had my headlamp and Bob gave me his knuckle lights, so I carried one in my right hand to give the trail some definition. This worked well the whole run. I was moving well being careful on the roots of the first single track section. On the Porcupine to Homestead cutoff, I caught my left foot on a root and down I went. My pack flew up by my head so I flipped it back down off my shoulders and kept going. A few minutes later I tried to take a drink and I couldn't get anything out of it. I messed with the bite valve, but no luck. I couldn't waste any more time so I decided to leave it and wait until I got to the aid station so Billy could help me with it. So I ran the next 3.5 miles with no Tailwind. Got to the spot where the aid station was and it wasn't there, WTF? They had put it back to the original spot and no one told me. Finally got there and told Billy what was going on, we opened my pack and the tube had come disconnected from the pack. He put it back on and it worked but I was sucking air also. Had a cup of water and tailwind while I talked to Sam, who looked great! He was on lap 3. Stayed longer than I planned but took off again. I passed a lot of runners in both directions. I stopped to pee at the Bradbury intersection and geared up for the hills to come. I ran some hills and marched the steep ones. I felt good, the cool weather was perfect. I was really focused on the trail and there was no time to let your mind wander if you wanted to stay upright. I got to the long uphill with the flat ledge at the top and started running up it but I caught my foot like 3 times and almost fell so I started marching. When I got to the concrete stream crossing it was really low and I could hop across it no problem. Made it out to Conant road, had a square of PBJ, a couple glasses of tailwind, and an S-cap. Didn't stay long and headed back. Just focused on the trail and didn't worry about where I was or how far I had to go. I felt good but my legs were getting tired. I had to really slow down on the downhills so I wouldn't trip. I was still able to run up some of the hills and marched the steep ones. Had a GU on this section, then stopped to pee at the Bradford intersection again. I was really glad to be on this section of trail and get off the rocky section of the hills. Pretty uneventful getting to the Middle Earth aid station, except I passed an old guy with a really bright headlamp, it looked like a high beam from a vehicle. I found the muddy spots were really hard to determine how deep and/or muddy they were. The depth perception detail just wasn't there, so I had to be careful going through these areas. I could feel the air temperature had really dropped, luckily I was still sweating so it wasn't a problem for me, but it was for a lot of the solo runners who weren't prepared for the steep drop, down into the 40's. At Middle In I stopped for water, Tailwind, a Tums, and an S-cap. Didn't stay long and was looking forward to getting to the single track. Legs were really tired and the downhills were getting really tough, the ups were still ok. I took another GU so I'd be ready for the singletrack. Got to the Homestead trail and I really slowed down. Any rocky technical section I had to walk around. I was a little faster on second section of singletrack. Once, I got out to the ATV trail for the final 0.9 miles I checked my watch and I was at 3:49. That gave me only 11 minutes to finish under 4 hours, so I put my head down and put the hammer down. I had cleared the rocks out of the left side while I was marking the course, so I knew the footing would be good. Legs responded pretty well and I had a good pace going. The good thing about the dark was, I couldn't see how far I had to go up the long hill. But it definitely got easier when I reached the top, so I knew I was getting close. Ran hard to finish line and my time was 3:58, nice! Bob, Glenn, and Bob were there to greet me and I was steaming from being sweaty in the cold air. I changed my shirt and put on my sweatshirt and beanie pretty quick as I was getting cold. Those guys took off, and I was right behind them with the heat cranked up in the car. By the time I got home I was freezing, I took a long hot shower and got in bed but shivered for a long time before falling asleep.
I was pretty happy with my performance, I don't think I could have run it any harder than I did, especially in the dark. I could have used more hill training, but that happens every year it seems like. The cold temperatures were just right for me. I felt pretty good the next day, my quads were a little sore, but I felt way better than I did last year pacing. Looking forward to doing it again next year!