Mountain Mist
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." -- Hunter S. Thompson
It hit me when I decided to post a blog about Mountain Mist, that I haven't written anything since A Race for the Ages last September. Since then, it's been a wild and crazy ride through a bunch of races. It started with the Spooktacular 5K in October, where I won a pumpkin for placing in my age group -- I've received medals, cups, glasses, plaques, but it was a first to get a pumpkin. This particular pumpkin got a reprieve from the carving knife and actually stuck around long enough to serve as a Thanksgiving decoration.
Time marched on, and once again I signed up for the Huntsville Track Club's Grand Slam. This was a different kind of Slam this year. From my blogs last year, you recall the Grand Slam consists of the Dizzy 50K, the Rocket City Marathon, Recover from the Holidays 50K, and finally Mountain Mist. I now have four Grand Slam jackets and I ran these races a few years when the official Grand Slam went dormant.
The Dizzy 50K went off with only one minor glitch; I along with Anya Gluszek, Todd Parsons and a few others, in the words of the great sprinter Bugs Bunny, "took a wrong turn in Albuquerque" and added a little extra to our run.
After Dizzy, we had an unseasonably warm and humid day for the Rocket City Marathon. My legs started cramping coming out of the Botanical Gardens, around mile 18 or so, and I had to manage that mess through the rest of the race. At one point, a lady standing in her yard took pity on me when she saw me hobbling and asked if there was anything she could do. I asked her if I could use her mailbox to hang onto and stretch, she laughed and said, "Have at it!" I was hoping to repeat my sub-4 hour performance from last year, but it was not to be. I finished in 4:07 and was just glad to get it done.
From a race standpoint, Recover from the Holidays was pretty uneventful. I had a final surge to come in under 6 hours. In addition to getting to run with a bunch of friends, it's just a lot of fun to hang out after this race, enjoy a few beers with running buddies, and get an early jump on New Year's Eve festivities.
Now, for the biggie....
From a race standpoint, Recover from the Holidays was pretty uneventful. I had a final surge to come in under 6 hours. In addition to getting to run with a bunch of friends, it's just a lot of fun to hang out after this race, enjoy a few beers with running buddies, and get an early jump on New Year's Eve festivities.
Now, for the biggie....
The Mountain Mist 50K is nothing new to me; this was my seventh attempt at completing this very challenging and technical course. After my second DNF on the course in 2010, I vowed I would never take the Mist for granted again. There is nothing like it, and you've got to train for it. There are no free passes. It was a year like this, full of ice, snow, and mud, that reinforced my belief in being mentally and physically prepared for this race. Rocks and roots and steep descents and climbs are the things that you have to deal with in any given year, but add ice to the mix, and it becomes a whole new Hell adventure....yeah, adventure. Due to inclement weather that descended on the region, the race was postponed by a day. It was a logistical and political feat to move the race, and I'm convinced only Dink and Suzanne Taylor, Race Directors for Mountain Mist, could have pulled it off. But they did, and we had our start time on Sunday morning, January 24.
Race Start through O'Shaughnessey Point Aid Station, 6.4 Miles
(Hanging out with my best friends DeWayne and Cara before the race. When DeWayne said, "Hey Shar, it's good to see you. Can you give us a minute? I said, "Sure!" And I set the alarm on my watch for 1 minute.)
Due to ice on the roads, we started the race on the median in the parking lot of the Monte Sano Lodge. As the rifle fired and the race started, runners were dodging trees in the median as we made our way to our first turn and headed down the road to the trail head. This was no piece of cake. Usually, this section provides an opportunity to get off to a fast start and bank some time for the challenging sections of the race ahead. But that was not to be this year. The ice on the roads caused a great deal of slipping and sliding and leaping from the road to the shoulder and back again -- all in an attempt to remain upright. I managed to stay on my feet and made it to the first aid station with only a few near misses.
O'Shaughnessy Point to Goat Trail Aid Station (11.9 miles)
Somewhere after the first aid station, I caught up with James Falcon and Christy Scott. As we approached the Power Line section of the course, James asked me if I had ever seen the ladder in the tree. I guess since I mostly keep my eyes on the trail, I never stopped to look up. But after James pointed it out, I took a quick peek up and there it was -- an A frame ladder stuck in the top of a tree. As James said, it must have been blown up there during one of the many tornadoes we have in the Tennessee Valley.
We were all moving really well and I felt pretty good going up K2. I made it through Stone Cuts at a decent hike, and from there was in good shape to pound down Sinks and start the run over to the Fearn Drive Aid Station. I was still following James and Christy at this point.
Fearn Drive (mile 17.1) to the Land Trust Aid Station (mile 21.1)
As we left Fearn and headed for High Trail, I'd lost track of James, and Christy started pulling away. I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep pace with them, so I fell into my own rhythm.
As I turned onto Bluff Line, heading over to the Land Trust Aid Station, my mind raced back to a year ago when I took a nasty fall on the rocks. It was no easy fall. I landed hard in the middle of a rock garden and my entire left side felt numb. However, I had to push those thoughts out of my head and keep moving. The worse thing you can do at Mountain Mist is start hunting and pecking your way through the technical sections. It will cause more trips and falls than an all out run. This is where training kicks in -- keep your feet moving and lift those tired legs!
By the time I reached the Land Trust aid station, I was ready to refuel -- coke, gels, potato chips, a PB&J square -- I downed them all. It was the boost I needed to make it over to, and up Waterline.
Land Trust Aid to Monte Sano Boulevard Aid Station (25.1 miles)
Old Railroad Bed Trail, like Toll Gate trail, is nothing but painful rocks. There are large sections where you don't see a trail bed. The trail is just a collection of the meanest, sharpest rocks around. Last year, I recall thanking the running gods for Hokas. I feel the same way again this year. Last year I was wearing a pair of Hoka Trail Stinsons and this year, I was wearing a pair of Hoka Challengers. They are every bit as good of a cushioned trail shoe, but they are much lighter than the Stinsons.
As I made my way up Waterline this year, I noticed four HEMSI personnel were at the top of the waterfall. They even offered a rope assist up the sheer side of the waterfall, but I took the other route. About halfway up, I was kind of wishing I would have used the rope. The climb is hand over hand steep, but it was also icy. One slip could result in a very bad day. Luckily, I made it to the top and the HEMSI guys were getting a kick out of the suffering we were all going through. So, as I made my way up that last slick section, I had to tell them the old joke, "Do you know the famous last words of a redneck? Hold my beer, and watch this." It kind of summed up the lunacy of climbing on icy rocks.
Monte Sano Boulevard to Rest Shelter Aid Station (29.2 miles)
After making it up to the top of Waterline, I made it over to the Monte Sano Boulevard Aid Station. They had my favorite fuel -- boiled potatoes and salt. I had been dealing with tightening ham strings and the salt was exactly what I needed. As I left the aid station, I started over to Natural Well through a relatively new section of trail, which replaced the Son of a Bitch Ditch section which was completely washed out a few years ago.
I made it past Natural Well, and started the descent down Arrowhead. This section of trail can be challenging during dry months, but throwing in ice and mud made it super sketchy. As I started running down a more forgiving section of the trail, I snagged my toe on a rock and fell so fast and hard that I couldn't get my hands out in front of me in time -- it was a real face plant. I literally took it on the chin. When I got up and started moving again I was convinced that my chin was bleeding; I kept holding my glove up to my chin, but thankfully there was no cut. I later joked that my beard saved me.
I made it up Cry Baby Hill and kept moving through the "slush mile." Honestly, the conditions on the entire course made slush mile just another stretch of muddy trails. There were many slush miles on the Mountain Mist course this year.
As I started up Rest Shelter, I came to Kathy's Bench -- the place where tradition states that you must start your run up the Rest Shelter climb. This year, I was totally spent, but I managed to swing my arms and mimic the form of a run. So, I had that going for me.
It was enough to get me to the Rest Shelter aid station.
Rest Shelter to the Finish Line (30.5 miles)
Ryan Chaffin had caught me earlier, during the slush mile, and I told him that there was no way I was going to be able to repeat my sub-7 hour effort of last year, and so to paraphrase a line from Blake Thompson, "When time doesn't matter, get a beer." The Rest Shelter aid station offers beer in addition to the usual fare. This year, for the first time, I went for it. That beer hit the spot!
Last year, I caught a second wind and was able to run the last 1.8 miles to the finish line. This year, I took a nice, easy steady pace. I wasn't setting any land speed records. A couple of people passed me, and I can't stand that on the last section, but there was nothing left in the tank.
I crossed the finish line in 7:33:56; last year I did it in 6:43:39. I was feeling a little dejected, but at that moment Will Barnwell came up to me while I was sitting on the wall at the Lodge, and he helped me put it in perspective. It was a very tough day; the conditions were brutal. Will said he missed his goal for the day. Also, I later learned that some of our areas best runners had to drop after taking some really hard falls.
I was fortunate to have made it across the finish line this year. From year to year, Mountain Mist is a different race, and it never disappoints.
