Briefly, NOT!

Is the answer. What was the question?

“Running with Reckless Abandon?”  That was the question, as I recall. And “Briefly” is, in brief, my personal answer.

Promise Land is part of a journey for me this year. It is not the destination. It is the third step in The Beast, having followed Holiday Lake and Terrapin Mountain. Still, it is not part of a “build up” because I now have 6 months before The Beast continues, and wraps up, with the back to back to back Grindstone 100, Mouintain Masochist 50ish Mile, and the Hellgate 100ish K.

 

This would be no “holiday”, despite the race taking place on the day before Easter, nor would I run like a “turtle”, as my feet are finally (mostly) healed from my Greylock foolishness way back when. No, this was intended to be reasonably quick, despite a shortage of recent long runs, and a lack of sufficient (?) Sleeping Giant hill repeats. I would not be foolishly/dangerously/recklessly fast, but I intended to run hard as a sort of “kick off” to serious training for the fall races.

The trip down was uneventful but fun, accompanied by Thelma and Louise, er, I mean, Allstate and Loopy. It would appear that the driving that Loopy, Spuds, and I are doing is getting better, and we seem to have trained ourselves to overcome traffic. Who knew you needed to train for the drives to Virginia as well? We met the SilentRunner crew in Hamburg for the Ultra Family stop, which was great, and the requisite Cabela’s visit. All 9 of us then regrouped at Promise Land. The campground scene at Promise Land reminds me quite a bit of the VT100, with David Horton thrown in for good measure. Big fun, good food, a bonfire, rain, and even a wedding proposal. According to the proposers shirt, “she said yes”, although I didn’t actually hear that part.

 

The next morning we emerged into the cool, dark, and only slightly damp air. It was wet enough to discourage the carrying of a camera, so there would be no photos en-route. The large (300+) pack of runners took off, onward and upward, at 5:30AM. Shortly thereafter, I found myself running in proximity to only one other Bimbler, “Reckless Abandon”. After only a minute or so, Reckless said “you need to get going”, and I did. So, as I said before, I only ran with Reckless Abandon briefly 🙂

 

I had run this race once before, 5 LONG years ago. Clearly, some of the trauma had faded, the road up toward Onion Mountain grew steeper and steeper, and while the darkness hid the pitch from view, the hamstrings and the lungs do not lie. The road grew impossibly steep just before the first aid station, and then the road ended. A slightly technical trail continued upwards, then grew smoother and added switchbacks, making running possible again. The sun came up, and the views of the valleys, still enveloped by fog, were spectacular. I knew Suds’ empathy run was coming to an end, and I thanked him for it. I took in the view, to share the “beauty all around me” with IGGY, who I was sure would “see” it, and, as the uphill went on, seemingly forever, I anxiously awaited the start for the 8:30 empathizers to guide me through The Dark Side.

 

At 7:45AM, more or less, I reached Sunset Fields aid station, and prepared for my decent into The Dark Side. I, and the runner with me, was advised that we were “chick’d”, at least once. What is it with guys down in Virginia about that????? I am always “chick’d” every race. Is that a problem? Anyway, I digress. On the somewhat steep, somewhat technical decent into The Dark Side, I lost ground, as I always do under such circumstances. I came to the water crossing where I almost drowned last time, which turned out to be the same crossing where Loopy would fall, but I crossed it intact. Slightly later, 3 runners blew by me as we approached the aid station at the bottom of The Dark Side. Like I said, I always pay a place price on the downhills, and remember, I was no longer running with Reckless Abandon…

That aid station had the BEST grilled cheese sandwich I have ever eaten before 10 AM! After that, there is a lot of flat, and a little too much pavement before you return to single track, and uphill, to return to the same aid station. I do not understand how you can run for miles on the flat, then miles going way uphill, only to come back to the same place.

Once you are back, the “real race” begins. this is when you ascend Apple Orchard Falls. It may be the most beautiful stretch of trail you were never able to run upon. 95% of the distance between the aid station at the bottom, and the Sunset Fields aid station at the top, was power-walking. Of the remaining 5%, probably half was jogging 10 steps or less and the other half was pulling your self up scrambles with your hands. Having said that, I passed two of the three runners who blew by me on the earlier downhill, and “tagged” the third, who I briefly mistook for Booman, at the Sunset Fields aid station. From there, it was all, OK mostly, downhill. Steep and gradual, technical and smooth, dirt, leaves, rock, pavement, gravel… a downhill buffet. The guy I caught at Sunset Fields got to the finish line 8 minutes before me! Also, two “chicks” passed me like I was a tree; one on the technical downhill, and the other on the road. The woman on the road, Amy Lane (not our “local” Amy Lane) turned to me and said, on the steep down, “Everything is groovy from here on out”, which brought a big smile to my face, as she and her 6 minute pace disappeared into the distance .

Finally, the always anticipated “1 mile to go” mark appeared in the road, and I knew I would do OK. I could not see anyone in front or behind me, so I figured my “place” was set. I was pretty much at the 6 hour mark, so that target was now a moot point. And so, I just bimbled, with no particular purpose, but a specific direction 🙂 I crossed in 6:08:30, with David Horton declaring me “First CT Runner”. My time was about 30 minutes faster than it was 5 years ago, but the course was MUCH tougher than I remembered. I told David Horton that fact, and he suggested that maybe being 5 years older had impacted my perceptions of the course!

Still, I got a “special finishers award” for being the first “really old guy”, as opposed to “old guy”, which was nice. Having said that, everything pales in comparison to the standard finishers award, the highly coveted Promise Land Shorts. The men’s shorts are now up to FIVE pockets. Sweet!

I then got to watch all Bimblers, save Chipper, cross the line is very impressive fashion. Understand, Chipper was impressive, I just wasn’t prepared for her arrival, as she was moving much (?) too fast. The post-race feast is a very good one. I guess I am happier with a mediocre shower and good food than vice-versa. We all packed up the tents, sleeping bags, etc… and headed home. All three Bimblermobiles made uncoordinated but reasonably synchronous stops at Chick-Fil-A, a new favorite based on the awesomeness of their milkshakes. Neither Thelma nor Louise would let me drive (my own car!) as they claimed I was “too far gone”. I felt bad to not help out, but appreciate their interest in all of us getting home alive.

It is really easy to say I would not return. I did well, I have already driven down there enough for a lifetime not counting the three more trips this year, and the race is hard. Really, really hard. The problem is that the atmosphere and camaraderie is incredible, and the beauty is unbelievable. Never say never. Right Ultra?