North Face ECSDC 50 Mile and Half Marathon - Race Report

For this year's North Face ECSDC event, I was trying to tackle the 50 mile race on Saturday, and then running with my mom and younger brother Kevin as they both attempted their first half-marathon on Sunday.

50-Mile:

Going back to Sterling Virginia for the 3rd time in as many years, I was slightly concerned about some foot pain I'd been dealing with in the weeks prior.  An inflammation of Plantar Fascia had kept my weekly mileage under 50 for the weeks leading up to the event.  In last year's attempt, another foot issue (self diagnosed Extendor Tendonitis) had ended my race early at mile 29.9, something which had been weighing on my mind all weekend.  Two years ago, I was ran a somewhat disappointing 11:08, so this year's goal was well below that, with my eyes set on a sub-9:00 finish.  As for Sunday, just finishing with my mom and brother would be good enough for me.

My girlfriend Elizabeth and I arrived early on Friday to ensure we had enough time to prepare for the following days.  We were staying at the Extended Stay America about a half-mile from the bus transfer lot to maximize our sleep the morning of the race.  My good friend and training partner Steve, who was running the 50k (his first ultra), was meeting us down there that night.  After a rendezvous at the local Olive Garden for some carbo-loading we proceeded back to the hotel for our final preparations.

Compression sleeve game is strong

Before I knew it I was kissing Elizabeth goodbye and boarding the 4:00 AM bus Algonkian State Park.  It was approximately 25F at the start line and drizzling as we all huddled around the fire pits North Face had set up.  I had chosen to wear three top layers (tech shirt, tech quarter-zip long sleeve, light rain jacket)  as well as gloves and a Buff and was comfortable for entire race.  For hydration I was utilizing the UD AK Race Vest 2.0 which has been my go-to vest for the majority of my ultras.  I wore Brooks Cascadia 10's over a pair of ultra-thin Injinji toe-socks and a pair of Point 6 wool running socks.

The first 15 miles are mostly run along the Potomac Heritage Trail to Great Falls and are generally flat, with two small sections of hills around miles 6 and 13.  I had planned to run this section at around 8:30-9:00 per mile, however, a mixture of rain, sleet, and hail ensured a much slower pace.  Though I felt strong through this section, my mile times were closer to 9:30-10:00.  This was going to be a long day.

I arrived at Great Falls in about 2:31 and immediately found Elizabeth had set up a personalized aid station a few feet in front of the main area.  (I cannot stress enough how helpful she is at all of these events and we have gotten incredibly efficient with practice, THANK YOU!).  At this point it was clear that 9:00 was not in the cards today, and I would need to work hard just to achieve a sub-10 hour finish.  The sky had somewhat cleared, giving way to almost perfect racing conditions for the rest of the day.  I was in and out of Great Falls aid station in around 30 seconds with full water bottles, GU, and ...my headlamp still on my head.  Oops!

I separate the Great Falls loops into three different sections:

Section 1: The road runs straight for about a mile before a sizable hill (maybe 300 ft gain) and leads into the first out-and-back.  This section rolls with some moderately technical sections before a steep down hill to the first bib-checker.  Then the loop is reverse and you arrive back at the top of the first hill.

Section 2:  This trail takes you to the 1st aid station of the loop (the other being Great Falls) then doubles back again but makes a hard turn to a separate trail about halfway back.  This trail is the most technical singletrack of the loop but is mostly downhill or flat.  Eventually this trail takes you back to the road which started section 1.

Section 3:  Before arriving back at Great Falls the trail makes a hard right and leads you to the last out-and-back section.  This section is very runnable until the end of the double back when you make a hard right toward the river.  Once you cross the bridge, it is a very technical half-mile back to great falls.

These loops did not go well, my Plantar Fascia was acting up and the weeks of undertraining were catching up with me, as well as a small bout of IG issues that sidelined me for a few minutes (luckily bathrooms are just off the trail at the beginning of the loop).  My three loops were 1:13:33 (3:45:22 overall), 1:17:11 (5:02:33), and 1:24:21 (6:26:54) respectively, including aid stations.  My foot was getting progressively worse but I was determined to make it back under 10 hours.

I began the 15 miles back tired but in good spirits that a sub-10 hour was within reach.  That is, until I arrived back on the Potomac Heritage Trail.  While the 50 mile was running, the 50k and marathon had both gone off and each utilizes the same 15 miles (or a bit less for them) that we do.  That, combined with the weather of earlier in the day, made for a Tough Mudder-esk course.  I slipped and slid every which way in an effort to maintain 12-minute mile pace but it was to no avail.  The course had won.  After a battle to the finish with another racer (Jonathan, thanks for the great race!) the race was over.

I crossed the finish line with an official time of 10:19:12.  Overall, I was not disappointed with my time.  I was probably in better shape last year judging by my other times, but better still better than two years ago.  The half-marathon the following day seemed to be out of the question, but I decided to not make any decisions until the following morning.  Steve ended up getting 2nd in the 50k with a time of 4:10!  I may need to take a page out of his book and incorporate some long fast road runs into my routine.

Half Marathon:
After I all but swore off the half-marathon the night before, I felt refreshed waking up the following morning.  Of course, there was a total body soreness which could be seen in every step I took, but was a fraction of the pain the day before.  I willed myself to the starting line with my mom and Kevin (Side rant: he is 13 years old, they really need to make another age category so that he isn't competing with 19-year-olds for his age group, or at least a youngest finisher award /end rant).  I would be wearing a brand new pair of Brooks Cascadia 10's, I had planned to run in the same shoes as the previous day, but they were too waterlogged and muddy so I though this was a better option.  I also wore the same UD AK Race Vest 2.0 as the day before.

My mom and Kevin goofing around at the start line

The weather was better today, though still cold, around 45F at the start.  We were in the last wave and it was approximately 15 minutes after the first runners that we took off.  As soon as I took my first couple steps I could feel the lactic acid in my legs protesting to quit.  After about a mile they began to settle in.  The plan going into the race is that the three of us would try to work together and just make it to the finish line.  That plan lasted about 2 miles before Kevin had enough of our slow pace and jogged ahead.  My mom and I were a bit concerned as he had planned to rely on our watch for time and mileage and my water pack for hydration.  We laughed it off though, that is just his competitive spirit.

The rest of the race was pretty uneventful.  The course is the last 13 miles of the 50 mile race (take out one small section) and although it was quite muddy, it was not nearly as bad as the day before.  We briefly saw Kevin in the small out-and-back section in the final 2 miles (he was coming out as we were going in) and he looked great.  With that stress relieved we motored through the last few miles and finished in 2:49:12.  Kevin was waiting for us at the finish, he had crossed the line in 2:36:53.

Finished!

Overall a great but exhausting weekend.  Thank you to Elizabeth and congratulations to mom, Kevin, Steve, and all the other finishers at ECSDC.  I'm not sure what my schedule is for next year, but something tells me I'll be toeing that starting line again in 2017.

Thanks for reading, Happy Trails