Monday, August 28, 2017

24 Hours of Shale Hell

Shale Hill is my favorite place for OCR, hands down. So no one will be surprised to learn that when they announced they'd be doing a low-key version of their annual endurance race, wit24 Hours of Shale Hell. That's right, 24 hours to do as many laps of the 10K course at Shale Hill as possible. As with the past few years, I was in!

In 2015, I competed in the 8 hour version, doing two laps. Last year, I signed up for the full race, and ended up racing for around 12 hours in brutal heat to complete three laps. This year, my goal was to do as least as much as last year, but if I was was being real with myself, I was hoping for four laps. Good news -- perfect weather, combined with some nice folks on the course to keep me company resulted in 4 laps during the 24 hour period of the race.


For 2017, Shale Hill's 24 hour event was casual, but still packed a punch. There were multiple divisions: mandatory obstacle completion, competitive and journeyman 24 hours, and an eight hour option. The competitive eight hour allowed people to qualify for the Obstacle Course Racing World Championships (by doing two laps and finishing top five in age group) and the competitive 24 hours let people qualify for the OCRWC 24 Hour Enduro Championships in Australia in 2018 (again for top 5 in age group). For me, I had already done my OCRWC qualifications for Canada this fall, and I had no plans to travel to Australia in 2018, so Shale Hill's event was a chance for me to challenge myself. With this in mind, I elected to run the non-competitive journeyman category.

The 24 hour event began at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. For the $150 fee (a bargain!), Friday and Saturday night camping was included. I opted to spend Friday night in Western Mass where my boyfriend, Ben, cooked me a fantastic dinner, and where I could sleep in comfort. I got up bright and early Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m., to make the drive to Benson, Vermont. I arrived at Shale Hill a little after 8:30 a.m., which gave me ample time to check-in and set up my tent.

About 50 people were onsite for the event, and probably half of them were NE Spahtens. This meant that friends abounded. I checked-in quickly with Jill, co-owner of Shale Hill, with fellow race director, Rob, and then was lucky enough to have teammate Amy help me pitch my tent. From there, I headed over to the 9:00 a.m. racers meeting where Rob told us about the rules for the self-supported race. There were a couple of special things to note about penalties (irrelevant to me since I was running the non-competitive penalty free journeyman division) which changed each lap. The penalties started as marked along the course -- mostly 30 spiderman push-ups, went to half the amount marked for lap two, jumping jacks for lap three, and so on. The race was to be self monitored with racers using the boards in the bar to check in and out, thus tracking their laps. Additionally, to mix it up, the third lap was to be run in reverse, with the obstacles done in reverse as well! As with the previous year, racers in the general 24 hour race were allowed to run for the first hour obstacle free. Unlike in 2016, I had planned for this by bringing my favorite trail sneakers, Altra Lone Peaks, and by setting a goal. In the extreme heat last year, I had made it just past the loom and to the hay bales, which I had to complete. This year, with perfect temperatures in the low 70s for a high on both Saturday and Sunday, I hoped to make it about 4.5 miles into the 10K course and past the 19' rope climb, a couple of obstacles past the hay bales.

After getting the scoop at the racer's meeting, I headed over for a quick team photo and then back to my tent to organize for my first lap. It was in the upper 60s, and, with an hour of running and five water stations on course, I opted to not take my pack. I should be back in under two hours for sure.

(photo credit: Vice Rhee)

A little before 10:00 a.m., Rob announced that we should make our way to the starting line. I headed over and at 10:00 a.m., we were off. The first hour of running went quite smoothly. The weather was nice, and, being prepared to run, I was in a good place physically, gear-wise, and mentally. This was much better than last year when the hour of running was kind of sprung on us at the race. At about 10 minutes before the one hour mark, I realized that if I ran fairly hard, I might make it past the wheel barrow carry, two obstacles past my goal. I increased my speed and passed right by the wheel barrows right before the klaxon went off to signal that we were to start completing obstacles. I was extremely pleased to make it 4.7 miles into the course and well passed both where I finished the run last year and my goal. 

After recovering by walking the wheel barrow loop, I jogged over to my first obstacle of the day, the ladder walls and then the monkey bars. Rob had said that we were all to attempt the uphill monkey bars -- women half way and men all the way. On lap one, the uphill monkey bars were my only failed obstacle, as I made it past some of the other obstacles that often challenge me and had fresh hands for the Tarzan ropes. I finished lap one in just over 90 minutes.

It was around 11:30 a.m. at this point. Having had an early breakfast and running for the past hour plus, I was hungry, so I headed back to my tent for a sandwich and to change into my OCR shoes and grab my pack. By noon, I was back out on the course for lap two, my first complete obstacle lap.

(photo credit: Paul Jones)

The first half of lap two ended up being a bit of a struggle. For whatever reason, I was kind of "out of it." I felt unfocused and a little spacey, despite the amazing weather and the fact that I felt I was fueling appropriately. Races had their ups and downs, so with that in mind, I persisted and kept moving. After about the half way point of the first lap, at the traverse wall, I began to spend some time running with other racers, chatting, generally feeling better. I finished lap two in a respectable time at 3:39 p.m. with only four failed obstacles -- bad attitude (better known as Devil's steps), the parallel bars, the uphill monkey bars, and the Tarzan ropes. I made it across the pond traverse, along the entire five panels of the great traverse wall, across the balance obstacles, up the firemen's pole and had success with countless others of the almost 80 obstacles that make up the course. Though journeyman is a do-what-ever-you-want division, I was playing it pretty strict, and doing all the carries and obstacles. My thought was to be as strict as possible based on my personal preferences. I love how everyone can do their own thing in journeyman and make it their own race.

The main excitement of lap two came towards the end at the penultimate obstacles, the warped wall. I had just run up the wall when I noticed a wasp to my left. I'm not one to panic, and certainly wasn't going to get into a state about a wasp while hanging over twenty feet from the ground my my fingers. "Ignore it, and it will go away," I thought. No such luck. The next thing I felt was my left tricep being stung -- ouch! After concentrating on not letting go and plummeting to my death, I made quick work on getting myself over the top of the wall and down the rope to ground level. Once back at the barn, the EMT, Sandy, was kind enough to rub some Purrell on the sting to make sure it was clean...clean-ish. (I turned down his offer of Benadryl, not wanting to sleep for the next 48 hours -- I had a race to run.)

Having done about five hours of intense fitness, I was a bit tired when I got back from lap two. I opted to spend around 90 minutes in my tent refueling and getting really ready for the next lap. I had to do at least three laps after all -- I couldn't do less than last year!

I headed out for lap three at around 5:00 p.m. Knowing that it would take me around 3.5 hours, I took my pack and a headlamp. During the third lap -- the backwards lap -- I met up with fellow NES, Taylor and Stephanie, and ended up running part of the course with them. I felt pretty good on lap three and followed them in the competitive division rules, even opting to do the penalties. Running the course and doing the obstacles in reverse definitely mixed things up. It was fun to slide down the coffins or the firemen's pole. It was interesting to climb up the ramp and go down the rope for the rope-ramp. Running the course in reverse also meant that some of the familiar way points along the course were reverse. I had to constantly keep checking myself to figure out where I was. Running in reverse was a fun mental challenge and a great way to mix it up. I had been dubious about running the course in reverse -- I am a person who likes routine -- but it was nice to tackle the last part of the course, which I consider more challenging, at the onset. I hope that this is a change that Rob sticks to for 2018. During the third lap, I felt fairly good and had very decent obstacle completion, failing the four obstacles from the previous lap, plus the zig zag, the tire swing, and the flat monkey bars. 


I got back to the main area at around 8:30 p.m. I had finished in the dark and was completely tired. I had finished three laps, meaning that my goal of keeping up was last year was complete. I decided to call it a night. I headed back to my tent, had some food, and was asleep by 9:15 p.m. However, before going to sleep, it nagged at me that I could do better than last year. I knew that I was too tired to go out again at the moment, especially because I'm not a night person. First light was at around 6:00 a.m. With that in mind, I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m. Could I bring myself to do a fourth lap?

At 5:00 a.m. the sound of my alarm roused me. I was tired and sore. I was also determined. If I did four laps that would be just about 25 miles -- over 24 miles in 24 hours, it would be better than last year; I had to do it! I snagged a snack, got dressed, and by 5:24 a.m., I was checked-out and on the course, running solo in the black with only the bob of my headlamp to keep me company. After around half an hour on course, while in the middle of one of the many fields of Shale Hill, I was able to see the light start to peak above the horizon. What a welcome sight.

(photo credit: Vince Rhee)

Lap four was two experiences rolled into one. When I challenged myself to go out for lap four, it was with the understanding that I was tired and would take advantage of my journeyman status. While I covered the entire course, the plan was to avoid some of the more draining carries and focus on the obstacles. I quasi kept to this, jogging the half mile loop for the log slipper carry sans-log. Everything else, I did in earnest. And everything, I mean everything was hard. I was bruised and sore, my arms had trouble extending, and my fingers were like the claw from that machine in Toy Story -- they couldn't open or close fully and were kind of bent. By the time I made it about 3/4 of the way through the course, I was spent. It was all I could do to keep moving. From the new obstacles, the Russian table, and onward, jogging was all I could do. Making it back was my main priority. I failed obstacle after obstacle after obstacle. When I saw the final stretch and the anaconda I was beyond relieved. I wound my way up and down the burn, climbing the walls as well I could, until I was able to jog up the final hill and ring the bell. I was done. Shale Hell 2017 was in the books.


No place challenges and rewards racers like Shale Hill. It's a place where everyone is friends and the owners know your name. The obstacles at Shale Hill are the best, without compare. It's a place where you can set new goals over and over again -- there is always room for improvement. So the only question is this: Do I try for five laps in 2018?

Monday, August 14, 2017

FIT at The Ridge

FIT Challenge, a perennial favorite race, at a new venue? Count me in! The most recent FIT Challenge, on Saturday, August 12, took place at Powder Ridge in Middlefield, Connecticut. A departure from the normal venue Diamond Hill in Cumberland, Rhode Island, I was curious to see how FIT would translate to a “mountain.” The answer: Amazing! FIT at The Ridge might just be my favorite FIT race so far.


Forecasts called for rain and potential thunder on Saturday, so I was pleased to arrive at Powder Ridge to sunny clear skies. The venue was an easy drive for me — just a little over an hour from my home in Western Massachusetts. Parking was $10, ample, and close to the location. Check-in, as always, as easy and quick. I arrived 45 minutes before my scheduled heat, which was plenty of time to do everything I needed to do and have time to socialize. 


After getting my bib and timing chip, I headed over to the NE Spahtens team tent. In the past, I had opted for the NE Spahtens wave at FIT. These waves often took place a little after 10:00 a.m., and often the course was a bit crowded at this point. This was especially the case this spring at Diamond Hill where, having to give way for multi-lappers, I waited as much as 25 minutes at one obstacle. Not cool. Plus, with most of the members of NES opting for multi-laps and going out first thing in the morning, I often missed my friends on the team by taking part in a later wave. With this all in mind, I signed up for the first open wave available for FIT at The Ridge. This was a winning move. I saw a ton of great people and waited at obstacles a minimal amount of time. 


After stashing my bag at the team tent and changing into my shoes, I spent time with friends and even got to go and connect with my mother who attended FIT as her first obstacle course race. (Note: Thanks FIT volunteers for taking such great care of Mom! She went up the mountain to see me and, unfortunately, missed me — I was too fast. Volunteers were super helpful in telling her that I’d come and gone, showing her a course map, and getting her to the bottom of the mountain.) A few minutes before 9:00 a.m. I headed over to the start line with my NES friends and with zero fanfare, we were off and running. Powder Ridge is not a large park, so the elevation was probably about the same as when we got at Diamond Hill; however, the way we attacked it was very different. I can almost guarantee that course times will be faster at Powder Ridge. Where Diamond Hill has tons of up and down, lots of single track, and an abundance of technical terrain, Powder Ridge had steady climbs, open areas where one could really run and easily pass people, and some great sections of trail running in the woods. I was able to run much more easily than at Diamond Hill, and I loved it! It was great to be able to really move my legs and run without having to worry about crazy technical aspects. This is a huge plus of the new venue, and, I think, made it easier for people to get around the course and pass people as needed.


The course, for me, measured in at 3.7 miles, containing the distance of two carries. The race started with about a half mile climb which served to spread out the field before the first obstacles. This worked decently well. There were slight waits — a couple of minutes — at the first three obstacles, but nothing terrible. The only real wait I had was at the monkey cargo net, where I waited about five minutes — much less than the half hour I waited here in the spring. 

The obstacles at FIT Challenge were plentiful and stellar. FIT’s mentality is do what you can / try your best. You have to attempt things as best you can, but there are no penalties for fail obstacles. This is a mentality that I really appreciate. I was extremely impressed with the layout of this course. Many races shy away from having obstacles up on the mountain. Not FIT! The number of obstacles up at the top of the mountain, and the excellent spacing of obstacles throughout is a testament to the detail that Robb, Aaron, and the entire FIT team put into this race. They run OCR, and FIT is an obstacle course race for obstacle course racers. 


The race started with a half mile climb up the mountain with approximately 380 feet of elevation gain. This served to spread out the pack a little and was the main climb of the day. Terrible? Yes. But also manageable. At the top of the mountain, at the 0.70 mile mark was the first obstacle, an a-frame cargo net. This was followed quickly by the double ups, a low crawl and a single cargo net. There were brief stops at the cargo nets and the double ups but nothing of more than a minute or two. 

After a section of trail running along fairly well groomed trails was the next set of obstacles grouped at the top of the mountain. This section of the course may well have been my favorite. It featured a ladder wall, over-under walls, a peg board climb, the teeter-totters, the rope climb, and the monkey cargo net (where I waited for five minutes — a vast improvement over last time. Also, the monkey cargo had a rope to help racers get up to the net. This was much appreciated!). Right after the monkey cargo was a slip wall (where my Icebugs made for an easy ascent), followed by a short (0.07 mile) tire drag, and the the devil steps. I have made improvements with the devil steps. This time, I was able to ascend all the steps; however, my short wingspan made it impossible to transition to the other side. An addition step or rope at the top of the ladder would have been most welcome.

The course then went down the mountain, bringing racers back to the main festival area. There, we encountered an eight foot wall and an over-under-through. The next was a quarter of a mile Wreck Bag carry over around 80 feet of elevation gain. FIT is great about providing a variety of weights from 25 pounds up to 50 pounds. The sun was getting hot at this point though, and the Wreck Bag carry felt like a bit of a sufferfest. I'm fairly slow at carries, but I tried to get this done, especially because I was feeling quite good about my course time overall. I was cruising -- getting in a lot of running -- and feeling strong on the obstacles. The nice weather, having a spectator, and the fun of being at FIT combined for an excellent day.


After the carry was the epic field "obstacle," which featured a crossfit style experience where racers had to hit a tire with a hammer, do tire flips and slams, and do push-ups on an incline. The volunteer at the hammer station was amazing! He took part in the obstacle with me and we did my 10 hammer hits together. That guy is awesome!


Next up was one of my favorite obstacles, a rig. This one featured a few different lanes with varying attachments. I opted for the monkey bars, into the horizontal pipe, to monkey bars, to a cargo net climb.



Even more exciting, after this was the Destroyer 2.0, a large inclined wall with another wall at the top. After ascending both walls, racers had to do a tire post hop on the other side. Back in the spring, I had had difficulty transitioning to the tires, and kind of belly flopped onto the first one, tried for the second, and rolled onto the ground. Fortunately, this time, I was able to get into a standing position on the first tire-topped post and hopped my way to the end as quickly as I could before losing my balance.


I slalomed my way through a set of kickboxing bags before heading back up the hill again to the log carry. This 0.19 mile carry took racers back down the hill a little and then up again for 83 feet of elevation gain. I was on my way to the log carry that I ran into my mother who had taken the ski lift up the hill and then walked her way back down getting to see all of the obstacles along the way (awesome!) but missing me (sad). At this point, I was over 2.5 miles into the race, so I gave my mother my drill shirt (I was overheating) and told her I would meet her soon at the finish line!

From the log carry, I made my way up the hill a tiny bit to the second crawl of the day. This was a long one, but fortunately, I could bear crawl fairly comfortably most of the way. Plus, FIT uses ropes instead of barbed wire for their crawls, which is very civilized. Next up was the floating wall. A fellow racer kindly held the wall in place while I climbed up and over.


The finish line was in sight. I bombed down the hill to tackle the final few obstacles. There was a quick tube crawl and inverted ladder wall. Then it was on to the final Destroyer wall and a quick step across the finish line.



I had a very good race, finishing strong in 1:13, way faster than previous FIT times. When comparing across all open waves, I finished fifth in my age group (out of two dozen), 8/223 for women, and 96/524 overall. If you lump my time with the elites, I finished eight by age, 24 by sex, and 126/560 overall. Pretty good all around.

FIT at The Ridge was a great race. I loved the new venue, the course was fantastic -- dare I say even better than Diamond Hill, and, as always, I loved the obstacles. I'm not sure when the next FIT race will be happening, but suffice it to say, I will be there!