Blue Ridge Race Report

Last weekend we headed up to Blue Ridge for the Blue Ridge Mountain AR. This was my fifth time racing and seventh year being up there for this race. I absolutely love this race. The whole city seems to come out to help and watch and the course is always designed well. This year I raced with some good friends that I've been racing with the past year, Dave Collins and Katie Ferrington, as team Mims the Word.

This years race was really cool with tons of options that required a lot of strategy. We plotted 18 cps the night before. CP's 2-7 could be achieved in any order- but the team had to stay together. CP's 8-15 could be be acheived in any order and teams were allowed to split up. CP's 16-19 were gotten in order with the team staying together. 15 minutes before that start we were given the coordinates to plot CP 1 and 6 prologue CP's (ABCDEF) of which we had to obtain 3 of them (ABC or DEF). Total of 22 CP's. The race began with a shotgun blast at Shallowford Bridge at 8:00AM. We headed off to get CP's ABC since I knew the area they were in pretty well (up and over Freeknob on the Benton). After nailing the prologue with no issues we picked up our bikes at Tilly Bend Church on Old Dial Rd. and riad to Rocky Point picking up CP 1 on the way. After meeting our crew at Rocky Point we drooped the bikes and headed out on foot for a loop that contained CP's 2-6 and a ton of elevation. We made in through back to the transition area with no real issues and picked up the canoe. CP's 7-15 were obtained by paddling to points along the lake and portaging our canoe while we sent a runner to get the CP's. This strategy seemed to work well for us as we are stronger runners then bikers. After knocking off CP 15 we continued paddling on Lake Blue Ridge to the dam where we would portage across to the Toccoa River. We then followed the Toccoa to the last transition where we left our canoe with the crew and picked up out bikes for a short 5 mile ride into town. We finished in 8:47:00 with all 22 CP's in 13th place- my best result in Blue Ridge so far.

I was really pleased with our race and my great teammates. What an awesome weekend. It was Audrey's first trip to the mountain and her longest car ride so far and she did awesome. My wife is so cool for supporting me with this stuff. She had a lot to put up with dealing with Audrey and a stressed husband. I couldn't do this stuff with her. My brother Matt and his wife Kristin came up and ran support for us with Shelby. It was so good to have them there.

The Guana 50k

I know this is a little late, but here's my race report for the Guana 50k. This was my first ultra-marathon and it was quite the learning experience. Race day was a little warmer than I had hoped for but at least we had overcast skies. After a brief pre-race meeting from the RD the race started at 7 am. There were about 100 runners doing the event. Some doing the 50k, most doing the 25k relay. I settled in to a good rhythm and was running what I thought would be a sustainable pace for at least the first three laps. (The race consist of 4, 7.5 mile laps) I ended up having some stomach issues during the second lap and by the time I made to the third lap I was showing signs of being dehydrated. I had been feeling pretty sick that week before and had been on antibiotics. I should have done my research before the race because I learned the hard way the antibiotics can lead to dehydration. The last 15 miles were some of the hardest miles I've ever run (well, walked and shuffled mostly). Before heading out on the last lap I got to see Shelby, her mom, and Audrey. That came just at the right time as I was having to fight off the urge to call it. To give you an idea of how bad I was hurting my first lap was 1:20:00 and my last lap was right over 2 hours. I finished in 7:15:00. Good parts of the race were hanging out and talking to the other runners- I tried to glean as much wisdom as I could, seeing Shelby and Audrey, and just plain finishing. I was disappointed with my time but pleased that I didn't give up. I'll be back next year to give it another go- next time more prepared.

Commitment

I finally committed to the Guana 50k and put my money in the mail. No turning back now. I ran this event two years ago as a relay and loved it. This year I feel like I've got the miles in my legs to go for the whole thing. I'm hoping a couple of my buddies will be out there as well. It's a four lap event, each lap being a little over 7.5 miles. That fourth lap is gonna be a bear. I'm planning on starting really slow and trying to conserve as much as possible for the last lap. Honestly- I can't wait for the race. I love running trails and Guana is beautiful. This weekend Shelby and I are heading out to the ranch to hang out for my birthday. Should be a relaxing weekend. I'm gonna take the hiking backpack to put Audrey in and get out on the Florida Trail some. Should get in a good run a ride out there as well. I'll try and take some pictures.

Morning Peddle, Afternoon Paddle

Yesterday was awesome. I got a great ride in before work and went out in the kayak after work. Got in about an 1:40 of paddling which is pretty good for a weekday. Here are a few pics from the paddle.

River Run

This past weekend Shelby and I did the Gate River Run 15k. This was our 4th one and it's always a good time. Shelby and I decided to run together this year and had a blast. She did awesome, 1:37:47. The weather was perfect, cool and overcast. Only bad part was how foggy it was. Saw a lot of people we knew along the road which is always a great distraction. My buddy Daniel ran a great time this year, 1:12:00. On Sunday I took some friends out canoeing and gave them some pointers. They are training for the Blue Ridge AR coming up as well. I need to spend more time in the Sundowner before Blue Ridge. I'm still not completely comfortable in it. I'm hoping to take it out to the ranch this weekend and paddle it on the Suwannee. In all, we had a great weekend with beautiful weather. 

Good Weekend

Had another pretty good weekend for training. Saturday I rode an hour and a half on the road bike and Sunday I ran 19 miles, a little over three hours. The only time I had to run was right after church so the heat played a big factor- it was about 75-80 degrees. I filled up my water bottle twice during the run, had two gels, and five endurolytes. That seemed to keep me going and got me through it. The best part of the run was having no muscle cramping, even with the heat. I can definitely tell that I've gotten stronger since the marathon in January. Not necessarily faster, but my endurance has improved. This weekend is the River Run 15k, the largest road race in Jacksonville. Shelby and I will be doing it as well as her brother and a ton of our friends so it'll be a great time. The course has a montrous bridge at mile 8 that really kills you before the finish so maybe the treadmill and stairmaster work will pay off.

Feeling better

What started out as a pretty crappy weekend for training (I had been sick all last week), ended up being pretty good. Saturday was a absolutley beautiful day and despite feeling like crap in the morning I ended up getting in a solid 10 mile run (8 with Shelby and Audrey). Later that day we brought Audrey and Reese out to Julington Durbin Preserve for a short hike so that Reese could run around some. We tried out a hiking back pack with Audrey that my mom had gotten us before she was born. It worked really well and was reasonably comfortable. I think Audrey will like it better when she can see over the top instead of just out the sides. I woke up feeling crappy again on Sunday but again, things got better as the day went on. A buddy of mine called me a couple weeks ago about doing a relay off-road tri with him. They needed a kayak guy. The race was extremely short- one lap around a small lake. I came in first off the water and got us about a 20 sec. lead going into the bike. It was fun hanging out but sure would have been nicer if it had been a longer paddle. I'm really hoping to get out to Guana this week at night with Dave to do some more scouting and to experience the area at night.