A few weekends ago I completed The Reverse Ring, which is a 71 mile counter clockwise circuit run of the Massanutten trail.
Its sister run is The Ring, which is traditionally held Labor Day weekend, and is the course run in the clockwise direction. To qualify for the Reverse, you must have completed the Ring at some point. I joined this “Fellowship” back in 2008 and became a “Master of the Ring” in 2009 when I completed the Reverse Ring in a time of 23:30 on my first attempt.
I enjoy this race and the timing of it because it’s a good test for MMT in May since it covers a good portion of the course. However, I feel it’s more difficult than MMT since you don’t get any ‘easy’ road running sections as you’re almost always on the ridge line. There’s a lot of climbing to get there, and in some sections, a lot of “PUD’s” (pointless ups and downs) when you are there. There’s no place to relax as you’re constantly on the go.
Knowing all of this, I feel like I *know* the course. Aside from completing the Reverse twice before and the Ring once, I’ve also covered 46 miles of the Reverse (to Camp Roosevelt in 2012 where I pulled out), and 57 miles of the Ring in 2009 and 25 miles last year. There’s also countless miles from running MMT 7 times (6 finishes) and other races and training runs out there.
Now.
WITH ALLL THAT SAID, you would think I we be prepared.
Spoiler Alert – I was not prepared.
Here’s a three part look at the race from my Instagram page in pictures and videos. This should give you an idea not just of the course, but the mental and physical toll it takes to be moving at all hours.
Part 1 – Start to Woodstock Tower aid station. Mile 0 – 14.2.
Part 2 – Woodstock Tower to Moreland Gap. Mile 14.2 – 30.4.
Part 3 – Moreland Gap to the Finish. Mile 30.4 – 71.
So here’s where I went wrong – I did shit for planning. It was a mess, no rhyme or reason to what I brought and why I forgot so much.
It seems so simple, right? I’m going to be out running in the mountains for 24 hours, I’ve done MMT 7 times (starts.. 6 finishes), therefore I should know what to pack and how to prepare for the race at least the week leading up to it.
So let’s break it down.
SLEEP
I sleep for shit. Right now, as I’m typing this sentence, it’s 10:35pm and I have to get up at 4:15 (that’s being generous..). This is not unusually. I have a hard time winding down.. shutting off.. putting things to rest until tomorrow. This was pretty normal for me the week leading up to the run.
HYDRATION
I feel like I’m drinking enough, but I know I’m not. I figure it’s a combination of sleep deprivation and lack of hydration that has me craving junk food.
NUTRITION
The week of? See above..
GEAR PREP
An email from the race director (RD) the day before mentioned rain over the weekend, but added it would be warm, so that was a plus. I looked at the weather forecast for Front Royal, VA and it showed 40% chance of rain early, but temps in the mind 40s – great running weather – and not too cold overnight. I packed light – 2 extra Tshirts, 2 extra running shorts – one in case of chaffing, the other to wear under tights at night – and tights, light gloves, 1 extra Buff, 1 extra ball cap, 1 winter hat, 3 extra pairs of socks, and 2 extra pairs of shoes. This was to last me A FULL DAY. I start in shorts, compression undershirt, Tshirt, arm warmers, baseball hat, and carried a light rainshell in my hydration pack.
What I *should’ve* done was look at the weather for Edinburg, VA, or another city closer to the middle of the course, not the northern most point. Oops.
TRAINING
In one word – inconsistent.
So.. not to say that any one of these alone would lead to disaster, but all of them in the same week and, yeah.. I didn’t put myself in a great position to finish.
But I finished. By some miracle I gutted it out. That miracle was the kindness of another runner who let me wear a spare jacket of his from 40 miles. It was from the selfless volunteers who gave me extra clothes that THEY had packed to withstand the cold of standing around helping the runners.
I can look at this race as a failure, but I’d rather look back and learn from it.
– Get more sleep
– Don’t eat like an asshole
– Train, dummy. Y’know, like, run from time to time?
– Pack for the conditions. Double check the weather.
REAL TALK
I was sleep walking like a mofo. I saw dogs, and cats, and families, and squirrel orgies, and I was having conversations with friends, and I stopped and turned around to pick up something a friend set down on the trail that I had walked past then thought “I should get that”. I stepped off the trail — off the side of the mountain — during a section of switchbacks and fell to the ground, which woke me up. Numerous times I just walked off the trail 10 feet, luckily into some trees, which stopped me and woke me up. It took me a long time to cover 3 miles because I was either walking off the trail, or sleeping while standing in place. I had to back track a few times since I had lost my sense of direction and wasn’t sure if I was on the correct trail even though the blaze color (orange) didn’t change. I was more mentally lost than physically lost. I need to figure out a sleep routine. I need to better manage my time during the day. I feel like I do a decent job managing a class from warm up to mobility, so why I can’t I do that with my life? Why do I put the needs of others in front of my own?
I’m heavy. I’m up at least 15# from last year, and it bothers me. Clothes don’t fit like they used to – sports bras chafe, arm warmers are a little more snug – and I move slow when running, in workouts.. heck, just getting up off the ground! I’m aware of it. I’m painfully aware of of my weight gain – hence the every present hoodie and sweatpants. I’m not comfortable in my own skin, let alone in my own skin around others, and I know it’s tied in with my sleep issues and eating out of boredom and stress. So starting Friday I will be tracking everything I eat through My Fitness Pal (MFP), which you can follow along. Nothing like the pressure of others following along to keep me accountable.
Be more consistent with my training. I’m not a huge fan of running during the week, but it needs to become a staple, even if it’s only 1-2x. I prefer the Air Assault bike or erg (rowing) instead of running — is that sick or what?? I will be more transparent with that, including my workouts for the week in upcoming blog posts.
Yoga/mobility/stretching/breathing — at least one of these every day. One thing I’ve noticed during races is my inability to get a full or deep breath. It’s like my chest won’t expand or I have to yawn to make it happen. I feel like I’m gasping for air or sometimes holding my breath. As for mobility and yoga, when I finished the race, my legs felt okay, but about 12 hours later I had an incredibly intense pain in my shoulder that reduced me to my knees, nearly to tears. If I felt I had a hard time breathing during the run, this reduced me to shorts gasps, because the muscles in my back prevented my rib cage from moving. This same exact thing happened to me after MMT last year and I could barely move. I struggled to move from a chair to the floor, and then the floor to my bed. I believe this is something related to my posture when running – shoulders slouched forward – and then trying to reclaim a normal body position afterwards and my back was like, “haha.. fuck you.” I don’t want this to happen again. Ever. It sucks, and really, really hurts.
Stay hydrated. I feel like I’m drinking a lot during morning classes and when I’m walking dogs. This might sound silly, but during the cold weather we’ve been having, I loathe having to pee when I’m out walking dogs. And it’s because I don’t like dealing with my layers – normally 2 pairs of pants and multiple tops that are tucked in to my belted or tied pants. I just want to keep walking my dogs then be done with it. Minor? Petty? Sure. But something I’ll work on and try to work around with the walks.
I am happy I finished. I mean.. I WON! I was first female! I was also over 10 hours slower than the top male finisher with a time of 26:53 – exactly 4 hours slower than last year. FOUR. HOURS. *shrug* I get it — that’s a long time to be out there on your feet. But, I was the last woman standing of the 6 that started. And I’m pretty damn proud of that feat.
I will go back as often as I can. I love the course, the volunteers.. and next year, I have to defend my title!! Until then.. I have a lot of work ahead of me. So let’s get started.
