Escarpment Trail Run, Mountain Goats Only!

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es•carp•ment
noun \i-ˈskärp-mənt\
a long cliff or steep slope that separates two flat or slightly sloped areas

or

es•carp•ment
noun \i-ˈskärp-mənt\
a race that trail running mountain goats compete in to find out how bad ass they truly are.

Not this kind of Mountain Goat...

Not this kind of Mountain Goat…

This kind of Mountain Goat!

This kind of Mountain Goat!

 

I had no expectations going into this race…at least that is what I was trying to tell myself and anyone else that was listening. I had built this race up in my head by watching the videos and reading what others had written about the race. This was hyped to be a pretty intense race. Not having expectations for a race is what keeps my nerves at bay. I was fairly calm leading up to the race, up until the last couple minutes when my heat (#14) lined up at the start where I did my usually bouncing/jumping in place. When it was go time we all hurried off like a pack of turtles. There were four of us leading the pack of 15. Within the next quarter of a mile the four broke up into two groups of four. One woman (who was also breaking in her Saucony Peregrine trail shoes) and a man led the front with myself and a guy wearing bright green following. My guy in green ran this race before so I figured it would be fairly safe to follow him. I really wanted to try to stay with the pack of four. I had such a great experience at Bear Brook running with people but I was struggling to keep up today. I found myself running their race and not my own. I thought back to the conversations I had with my team mates and camping companions the night before and decided that I needed to pull back a little. Slow down and get back into aerobic mode. I felt I was pushing myself too hard and I definitely wasn’t running at a pace I could carry for 18 miles. So I found myself running my own race…alone. The first climb was a little over 3 miles, mostly runnable. I was able to pass several small groups of people from waves 12 and 13. Mostly men. The first aid station was a welcome site. I threw down some water and kept going. The aid station volunteers throughout the day were amazing-very supportive! Shortly after the first aid station I spotted another strong running female runner, thank goodness! I now had someone to keep me going. I did my best to run my race but follow the carrot dangling in front of me so I didn’t get too comfortable and lost in my thoughts. I eventually caught up to her on the climb. I hung back a little can chatted with my new friend on trail. Funny thing is we were also running with my campground neighbor Ben who the guys and I had been chatting with the night before.

My camping companions and team mates

My camping companions and team mates

Yes. I was camping with four men-Two team mates, their friend and their friend’s father…great group of guys. Anyhow, we stopped at the next rest stop. I handed water to my new friend, grabbed some for myself, downed it, grabbed a snack of some sort and darted back up the mountain. Friendship over I guess. I was alone again. I wanted to create some distance so I pushed at a good pace. Found myself running along another ridge and passed a few more runners as we started to climb blackhead. They weren’t looking all that good. I felt a little guilty sneaking by with my breathing intact. I met a guy on that climb who was on his first trail run ever! He was taking his time going up and was videotaping with his go pro. I am wondering how his body felt the days after…running these mountains is not even comparable to road running. Anyhow, I scampered up Blackhead. While it was steep in spots, it didn’t last long and I was feeling like the camera angles from the videos and the pictures were a little deceiving and this wasn’t as difficult as I had thought it would be. I got to the top and there was another rockin’ aid station. I grabbed another quick snack like a Twizzler or Swedish fish, a quick drink of electrolytes and down I went. I was feeling good! I was feeling strong. I started to become a little emotional-big shock! Ha ha. I started thinking about how I was feeling and that I was actually making decent time. I was strong. I started thinking about my grandmother and how she was no longer able to be physically strong as she once was. I started thinking about the fact that she really wasn’t able to live life anymore, she was merely surviving and I wanted her to let go. REALLY…all of this started rushing through my head. Tears weld in my eyes. I was close to bursting out but then I shook it off. I needed a clear head to maneuver this terrain. I started out on the ridge between Blackhead and the next climb on my own. As I was slowly trudging up a small incline I heard “go Acidotic”. Drats. I had been waiting for this but was hoping I was running strong enough that it wouldn’t happen. One of my team mates that started a couple waves behind me had caught up to me. That was motivation to keep myself moving fast. “you can run but you can’t hide” ha ha…smart ass. I did slow down a little and he eventually passed me. Our other team mate wasn’t all that far behind. Sure enough about 5ish minutes later there he was. Drats. I was a little deflated. I was doing my best to shake it off and not let it get to me mentally. I finally settled back in to my comfort zone and became content with running my own race. Much to my surprise I caught back up to the last team mate that passed me. As I got closer I shouted out to him that he needed to spend some more time in the Whites. I do feel running in the Whites helped prepare me for this race! Soon I was passing him on the climb. I tried pulling him along but he wasn’t having it so off I went. Holy Schnikes! Low and behold its Mr. Green shirt from the start of wave 14. Excuse me while I pass you. Every time I pass someone like that I get a little extra motivation. I know that by passing I am putting a big target on my back. I mean, I do that. Someone passes me and that gives me some umph to get going and try to stay with them. Eventually, on another climb I caught back up to my team mate who was chasing me down earlier. I climbed with him for a bit then found my groove and passed him. I had heard that once you see the plane crash on the final climb, you were almost to the final decent which was about 4 rocky, crazy terrain miles later. My team mate and I rejoiced at the sight and then I kicked it in and knew he wouldn’t be far behind. I could hear him for a bit and a couple times I looked behind me and eventually he was out of sight but I knew he wasn’t far. I was running scared. I DID not want him to pass me again and I was feeling strong so why not kick it in and hope I don’t bonk. It was mostly downhill after all, I am pretty sure I got this. I had been a little unsteady on the descents up until this point due to the slippery pebbles and uncomfortable terrain but I justglinda let it go and coasted down to the next aid station. What a great spot, right on a cliff. I grabbed a drink, drank some of my water, and started the climb off the cliff. One of the volunteers had a bag a chips and I took a handful at the last minute as I started to climb down. I was right behind a couple men and they must have seen it on my face. I was determined so they let me pass and off I went, unsure about where anyone behind me was. I ran as fast as I felt comfortable and came to the conclusion that if I was passed, so be it. I wanted to be safe. I couldn’t afford injury. As I got down to the bottom of a rocky section I set off on a strong run and got some kudos from hikers “go 198, you go girl”. Then I hear my team mate shout some smart ass comment, I couldn’t hear what he said but I did hear him say “right Sarah?” Sure, whatever. No, no you are not going to pass me again. Knowing he was right behind me made me kick it in that much more. It was a fine run down, with several steep cliffs and great views. I took a couple of quick glances and kept pushing. I didn’t notice anyone behind me but I wasn’t going to take any chances. I knew I was near the end and it was great to have groups of people along the trail cheering the finishers on. At about a half of mile to go I was still feeling good and felt that I had way too much to give, I must have been a little too conservative at the beginning of the race. I felt strong as I happily crossed the finish line, 4 hours and 32 minutes after I had started. My goal was to finish in less than 5 hours. My secret goal to finish in 4:30, My super-secret goal to finish in the top 10 women. I finished 5th woman overall, 10 minutes behind the Saucony Peregrine girl from the start of the race, one hour behind the top 3 women. I felt so good after the race! I was feeling a little guilty for feeling so good. I am looking forward to doing it again next year!Maybe I will have a super secret goal to finish in 4 hours…oops did I say that out loud?

2014 Escarpment Trail Run from MountainPeakFitness.com on Vimeo.

 

 

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