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Saturday, September 20, 2014

A Timeless Race

Sometime during the summer I decided to stop using my watch for my runs. I knew roughly the distance of most of my runs but did nothing back at home to keep track of just how many miles I was putting in for a given week. I still had kind of a training schedule, with one long run a week interspersed with shorter runs at a faster pace. So when I arrived at Bradbury Mountain State Park for the twelve mile Bradbury Bruiser race, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to perform versus my past performances.
I was really looking forward to this race as I hadn’t seen many other Trail Monster runners over the course of the summer. I had run the Scuffle but missed out on the Breaker as I spent that weekend hiking with my family. So there would be no Bad Ass hoodie for me at the end of this race for completing the series. One of my goals over the summer was not to become a Bad Ass runner but to allow time and opportunity to spend with my family, which for the most part was completed.
Since I hadn’t run most of the summer with a watch, I decided to leave mine at home for this race. I was a little inspired by Bob McGuire who I knew raced sans timepiece. I met up with him and many other friends before the race. When I told Bob I was taking his lead, he did confide in me that he usually trained with a watch, which had me wondering if this was such a good idea after all.
In talking with people before the race, a common question arose, “What race is next?” To which I did not have an answer. Most people didn’t probe too much, but George the Jedi really didn’t accept that answer and probed some more while we stood in the starting coral. So I began to ask him a little about the Massanuten 100 miler. While he excitedly told me all about it, I glanced behind us and noticed that there were a lot more people behind us than in front of us. Normally I don’t like to start in the front at this race as it starts out with lots of twists and turns on the trail and you really can’t get a fast pace going until about three miles into the race so it’s not that bad to move slow and make up time later on.
As the race started I really enjoyed having a little more space than I’m used to. I wasn’t stuck behind a slow moving group and there wasn’t anyone right on my heels either. I ran close to a few runners and there was a little changing of positions. Jim Gott was right with me as we were swapping places with Rebecca Miller. I was pleased I was able to stay on pace with these two as Jim has been training with the upcoming 50 miler at Bradbury and Rebecca has had a stellar summer of races. I caught sight of John Rodrigue and Zak Wieluns and pushed myself to catch up with them eager to strike up a conversation.
I made up a little song for John as I pulled in behind him. I was a little surprised to find Zak not closer to the lead pack, but when he told me about his race a little while ago in Ireland and how he was fighting some bad hamstrings I knew I shouldn’t let him lead our pack and potentially due more damage to his legs. So I pulled ahead hoping that I could pull him and others along, kind of like taking a turn at the front of a bike peleton.
When I got to the first aid station, most of the peleton had fallen behind except for Jim and another runner. I let both of them pass, as I took time to drink my full cup of water and chat a little with Jamie Anderson who was working at the station. I didn’t fall too far behind and was soon within a few strides of Jim.
The trail got a little technical again and I was able to pass Jim while still feeling that I wasn’t over exceeding my effort level. There were a couple other guys close by, one of them whom I had seen at many other races but was never formally introduced. So as we ran together and talked about football games later in the day, I formally introduced myself. He said his name is Nate Pike and that he was going to be doing a Spartathalon next week in Vermont. Although I tend to look down upon many themed races this one was not one I thought your normal weekend warrior could take on without some serious training. I had all sorts of questions about his training but only got to ask a few before we turned onto the snowmobile trail where he and another runner pulled out ahead of me.
The three of us were able to catch up to our race director Ian Parlin, and while the two busted up the hill I spent sometime talking with Ian. At the next aid station I once again took my time, still totally unaware of what my time was but pleased that I was placed near some good runners. I was hoping to be able to catch back up with Ian, and when I saw him just up ahead pulling some leaves off a tree branch I knew I had the opportunity to distance myself from him while he made his nature stop.
As the trail began to take it’s normal twists and turns again I was able to catch back up with Nate and the other runner. The three of us all moved together at conversational pace. The other runner, Bob Arsenault, talked a little how he got stuck behind a small train of runners earlier in the race whom he said were just chit-chatting. I told him that was probably me, John and Zak. And so while the three of us chit-chatted the miles quickly flew by.
Waiting for us at the last aid station was Iron Joe handing out water before we turned onto the dreaded O-Trail for the last couple of miles. I talked a little with Joe letting the others pull ahead and drank down my water. I quickly caught up with Nate and then another runner and then they both let me pull out ahead of them. To those unfamiliar with the O-Trail I will quickly describe it as the large intestine of trails and running on it you feel like a lump of partially digested food making it’s way through the digestive system. To my delight however, I was feeling still really fresh but knew if I pushed much harder my feeling could quickly change.
There are so many twists that you can see many other runners but be totally unaware just how far ahead or behind you are from the others. So when I began to catch sight of Bob once again I just wasn’t sure how close I was. He had said earlier that he hated leading people on this part of the race as it would suck energy away. So when I caught up to him, I thought there might be a chance to get past him. Instead, his pace only increased, and anytime the trail was straight he made the most of the opportunity and pulled farther ahead of me. I enjoyed keeping on his pace even from a distance and was feeling better than usual at this point of the race.
It can be very challenging to stay on the course with all the turns and I really appreciated the orange tape set up at a few of the more challenging turns. The tape was a great addition and perhaps next year there may be a few more places to add some. As I spotted other runners I had to make sure that I clearly saw an American flag sewn on the back of one before I shouted out encouragement to John who was having a stellar performance.
Bob was still in sight when we caught up to another runner who appeared to have all his energy sucked away from him by the O-Trail as we blazed by him. Not long after that I took the final turn off the O and picked my pace up not wanting to get caught in the final moments of the race.
I was unable to catch up with Bob before reaching the finishing chute. I must have been charging pretty hard as I came in when Ryan Triffit hollered for me to stop and then ripped off my info tag from my bib.
Even though I ran the race not concerned about my time, now I had to know. It was kind of like taking a test in school and wanting the teacher to grade it right away. Only now, I had to seek out runners close to me instead of the listing of grades posted on a professor’s door. (Yah, it’s been awhile since I’ve been in school.) I saw the one runner just behind me and he told me that he finished at 1:47. My PR for this race is just at 1:45 and to be about two minutes off was very pleasing. The conditions for the day had been perfect, as the sun was out but there was a chill in the air and the ground was just soft enough to have some good grip.
I hung out for awhile more sharing in the glory of the day with some great people. Before I slipped out of there, I did glance at the finisher’s board (literally a board) and saw that I had placed in twenty-fifth, later I would find out there were about one hundred fifty finishers.
Despite not wearing a watch during the race, I did need to be conscious of the time of day as I needed to pick up the kids and get to work later in the day. Looking back now, I think the real joy of not running with a watch is not about the race itself but that I didn’t need to be aware of any other moments of the day. There will always be time to measure time, why not live moments of pleasure in the absence of time.

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