RACE: WATCHUNG WINTER ULTRA

	M	Tu	W	Th	F	Sa	Su	Total
Swim	Off	2000m	Off	Off	2000m	Off	-	4000m
Bike	15mi.	Off	15mi	10mi	10mi	Off	Off	50mi
Run	4mi.	Off	5mi	4mi	Off	21mi	-	34mi

RACE: WATCHUNG WINTER ULTRA

Result: Did not finish (finished 2 of 3 laps for 21 miles)

Conditions: Hazardous ice rutted trails covered with newer snow.

Weather: Cloudy sunless day with temps ranging from 18 to 26 degrees. Little wind.

Time: 5 hours 15 minutes. Pace was 15 min/mile.

I had to make the decision to stop after 2 laps and is never easy to do so. These were easily the toughest conditions I've ever been on, although I have a feeling that this is the norm in the ultra world and that these conditions are tame considering where other ultras are held. That's OK though. Training in tough conditions will help me toughen up, right? Who knows, maybe I'll be out there one year at the Arrowhead 135 in northern Minnesota with temps as cold as 10 degrees below zero because of this race, right?

Still, the positives I can take from this race is that I did do 21 miles on an ice-rutted trail that fought me every step of the way. With this really being my first long run of the new season, it was really a good sign.

Secondly, the X-C flats were actually not bad out there. Yes, I did slip a lot, especially when I removed the Yaktrax from them half-way through the first lap because they just didn't want to stay on, but I did not twist an ankle on those trails. Again, whereas I inverted my ankle frequently in conventional shoes on treacherous trails, I still have not inverted my foot once on these trails in these extreme conditions. Just because I am lower to the ground (no raised heel), the ankle just doesn't have a chance to invert. In shorter races like this 50k, I will probably stay 100% in minimalist shoes, whereas in 50 and 100 milers, I will switch on and off with conventional shoes to keep the feet refreshed.

The first loop started out with mostly single track. Within the first 2 miles of the loop, the Yaktrax started to roll off my shoe. After stopping several times to reattach them, I finally took them off and ran without them for the last 5 miles of the first loop. After the first loop I was a bit tired from the struggle, but was ready to tackle the second lap.

The second lap was, of course, harder than the first. More ice was exposed and I was slipping a lot more frequently, especially on the hills. I took a minor spill on a crooked patch of ice on the back half of the second loop as my hip stabilizer muscles were tiring from the constant effort to stay upright. As I arrived at the Lake Surprise Aid station, I realized that I was not going to make the 5 hour cutoff after 2 laps and decided to cruise in easily to keep from getting injured. Once past the water tower, I picked the pace back up again and finished the last 1.5 miles pretty strong.

As I completed the loop, Rick McNulty, the Race Director, told me that it wasn't a hard cutoff and asked me if I intended to do another lap. Of course I wanted to go out there again, but my thighs were extremely tired and I was bordering on hypothermia. That extra lap would have done more harm than good. So logic prevailed over ego and I decided to call it a day.

Winter has always been the toughest with me. I've always had problems with my extremities when the mercury dips below freezing, and even the best clothes cannot keep me warm. Still, I hold out hope that I can somehow be trained to have a little more tolerance to the cold so that I can do these cold weather races a lot better. There are some races in the cold I would love to do, and hopefully I can adjust so that I can maybe give them a try. This winter, with its constant cold with no thaw in sight, might actually give me a little hope that I can build up a tolerance to the extreme cold.

Next up is the Holiday Lake 50k in February. Maybe I might find trails in Virginia better than here (meaning less snow and ice, of course), but the weather in Virginia is as unpredictable as here in NY and NJ. Who knows? Maybe I might find myself slipping and sliding on ice and snow again next month.