On June 13, I ran the Jackal
Trail Marathon in Jackson, TN. This was
the first race of the five-day Jackal Marathons series. Today’s course was seven laps of a 3.75-mile trail
loop through a wooded area near Union University.
I ran this series last
year, so I knew what to expect. The
trails weren’t overly technical, but there were roots, so I had to watch my
footing and pick up my feet.
When I picked up my race
bib yesterday, I forgot to look at the back.
The back of each race bib listed everyone who has ever finished all five
races of this series. Having finished
the series last year, I’m now immortalized on the race bibs. The race bibs also listed the course record
holders.
The biggest challenge today
was the weather. When I arrived at the
race venue, the temperature was in the low 70s, but there was enough humidity
to make it feel 10 degrees warmer. By
the time I finished, it would get into the upper 80s. Basically, it was two degrees warmer after
each lap.
It rained heavily on
Friday, so I was expecting the trails to be muddy. There were a couple muddy spots, but most of
the course was in surprisingly good condition.
I brought a cooler filled
with ice cubes, so I could put ice in my hat as it started getting hotter. I had just finished lugging my cooler to the
start area when I realized I had forgotten my fuel belt and bottle. With just 19 minutes until the start, I had
to rush back to my car, so I could drive back to the hotel and get it. Fortunately, my hotel was close.
I would’ve made it back
in time, but I also had to make a bathroom stop. That took extra time, but it was time well
spent. There aren’t any bathrooms on the
course, so I was glad I had the opportunity to use the bathroom in my hotel
room.
We had to park on the
other side of the street at Union University.
As I was parking my park, I saw another runner who was also going to be
late to the start. His name was Billy,
and this was his first time doing these races.
When I reached the start
area, the race had already started. The
clock read 1:17. I still needed to fill
my bottle, so it was probably more like 1:30 when I started. This race doesn’t have chip timing. Official times are “gun times,” so the extra time
it took me to get started was time lost.
Billy needed more time to
set up his gear, so I started by myself.
I didn’t like having to run the trails with nobody to follow, but as
soon as I reached the first junction, I was reminded how well these trails are
marked. I wasn’t going to make a wrong
turn on this course.
This trail snakes back
and forth a lot. I had only been running
for a few minutes when I saw several runners going in the opposite direction on
another segment of the trail that was only about 30 feet away. I would need to make several turns before I
reached the same segment, so it was hard to tell how far ahead they really were.
I was expecting to be one
of the slowest runners on the course. I
only needed to make up a couple minutes, but I wasn’t optimistic that I would
catch up. If anything, I would fall
farther behind. I might catch one or two
runners eventually, but it wouldn’t happen right away.
The time limit for this
race was seven and a half hours. Last
year, I ran it in 6:27:53. I expected to
be slower this year. I’m not in the same
shape, and I didn’t have as much recovery time after FANS. I knew I could finish within the time limit,
and I was reasonably confident I could keep my time under seven hours. Other than finishing, my only important goal was
to stay upright. Last year, I tripped on
a root and fell.
I ran at a cautious pace,
and I frequently slowed to a walk. I
walked on hills and any time I saw a lot of roots. Even on the most runnable sections, I sometimes
slowed to a walk for a few steps to manage my effort. Besides not wanting to trip, I also didn’t want
to tire myself out on a day that would gradually get hotter.
Last year, I used a 22-ounce
bottle. This year, I decided to go with
a 16-ounce bottle, so I wouldn’t be carrying as much weight. I refilled it at the start of each lap. If I needed more, there was a self-service
aid station about halfway through the loop.
I could always refill there. As
it turns out, I never did.
The first time my watch
gave me a split, it was a reminder to drink.
After that, I got in the habit of drinking after every mile.
According to my watch, my
time for the first mile was just over 14 minutes. At first, I thought that was slow. After thinking about it, I realized that was
faster than my average pace last year.
I eventually realized I
needed to take any information from my watch with a grain of salt. Almost all
of the course was under dense tree cover, and we were constantly making sharp
turns and doubling back. In conditions
like these, your watch isn’t always in contact with enough satellites to track
your position. With so many turns, you
end up running farther than what your watch says. My actual pace was actually a bit faster than
what my watch said.
My pace in the second
mile was about the same. By the third
mile, I was slowing down a little. About
halfway through that mile, Billy caught up to me. After he passed me, I was the last runner on
the course.
Having run this race last
year, I recognized some parts of the loop.
I couldn’t possibly remember every turn or hill, but there were certain
features that were memorable. Late in
the loop, there was a long hill that stuck in my memory. I recognized it as the one hill that I always
needed to walk last year. This year, I
was walking all the hills.
Shortly after that, there
was a place where I had to run over a few small hills in quick succession. The last one was the steepest, but we didn’t
actually need to go over that hill. We
were supposed to go around it. Last
year, I didn’t figure that out until late in the race. This year, I remembered, and I immediately
spotted the gentler trail that went around the side.
I was almost done with
that lap when I saw another runner a short distance ahead of me. When I finished the lap, I saw him and
another runner in the start/finish area.
I refilled my bottle and quickly headed out. The other two runners were still getting ready
to head out again. For the first time, I
wasn’t in last place.
I checked my watch as I
headed out again. My first lap took almost
52 minutes, not counting my late start.
If I ran every lap at that pace, I would finish in 6:04. I fully expected to get a little slower with
each lap, as the temperature gradually rose.
I wasn’t wrong.
I was a little more than
halfway through my second lap when the two fastest runners passed me. They were already on their third lap. Over the next few laps, several other runners
would gain a lap on me. The fastest
runners would pass me more than once. I
didn’t worry about that too much. I just
wanted to finish and stay upright.
A few times per lap, I
caught one of my feet on a root. Each
time, I was briefly thrown off balance, but I managed to keep me feet under me
and avoid falling. Most of the time, I
was going at a cautious enough pace that it was easy to regain my balance. As the race progressed, there were a couple
times that I would have fallen, but I was able to reach out and use a tree to
steady myself.
My second lap was two
minutes slower than my first lap. That
wasn’t surprising. As long as my lap
times were under an hour, I was easily on pace to break seven hours.
About halfway through
each lap, we came out of the forest and ran through a clearing within sight of
where we parked. This one the only part
of the course where we were exposed to the sun for any length of time. By my third lap, I started to get hot on this
section. There was a hill that I needed
to walk, but as soon as I reached the top, I always forced myself to run until
I re-entered the woods.
My third lap took about
56 minutes. That was two minutes slower
than my second lap. I was still happy
with that.
By now, I was getting hot
enough that I started putting ice in my hat.
The ice helped cool me off, but it was all melted by the time I was
halfway through the lap.
During this lap, I had an
awkward step when my foot slid sideways off a root. I turned my ankle slightly, and I had to do a
little more walking until I was sure it wasn’t injured. I didn’t do any damage, but for the rest of
the race, that ankle felt a little sore anytime I took an awkward step. With so many roots, that was a frequent
occurrence.
As I ran through the
clearing again, I told myself that I was halfway through the race. When I checked my watch, I realized that it must
be short of halfway. My time was too low
for me to already be at the halfway point of the race.
Lap four took 58 minutes. I was consistently getting two minutes slower
with each lap. That’s mostly because I
was needing to do a little more walking in each lap, as it got hotter.
After my previous lap, I
put one handful of ice on my hat. This
time, I put two handfuls in my hat. As I
started running my fifth lap, the ice on the top of my head was so intensely
cold that it was painful. The first few
minutes of that lap were uncomfortable.
After a few minutes, the ice no longer hurt, but it was still helping to
cool me off as it melted on my head.
Sadly, it was completely melted after only a mile. It helped while it lasted, but as the
temperature kept climbing, the ice melted quickly.
Through the first four
laps, I had some near misses, but I never fell.
In lap five, I accidentally stepped in a hole in the middle of the
trail. The sides were muddy, and my foot
slid farther into the hole. I couldn’t
lift that foot out fast enough to keep from getting off balance and falling to
one side. I had to put both hands on the
trail to catch myself. No other part of
my body touched the trail, but I could no longer say I stayed upright.
I expected that lap to
take more than an hour. I was pleasantly
surprised to run it in 59 minutes. I was
still getting slower with each lap, but I would easily finish in less than
seven hours.
I once again put two
handfuls of ice in my hat. This time it
didn’t hurt. I think it makes a big
difference where the ice was sitting on my head. Ice near the front of my head was
painful. Ice near the back felt good.
In lap six, I finally tripped
and fell. I caught my left foot on a
root, and it got stuck on that root just long enough that I couldn’t get it
under me again in time to keep from falling.
I took the impact with my
right arm. I didn’t hit anything hard,
and the ground was soft enough that the fall was no big deal. The only thing injured was my pride. This was my third race on these trails, and I’ve
yet to get through seven laps without a fall.
That lap was the first
one to take more than an hour, but I only had one lap to go, and I was easily
on pace to break seven hours.
I didn’t have as much
incentive to push the pace on that lap.
I allowed myself to take longer and more frequent walking breaks. My biggest concern now, other than not
wanting to fall again, was to make sure I didn’t overexert myself in the
heat. I needed to be able to bounce back
and run on these trails again tomorrow.
That lap was a couple minutes
slower, but I got it done. I finished
with an official time of 6:45:35. That’s
slower than last year, but I always expected that. The important thing is I finished. I earned the first of five jackal medals.
As soon as I finished, I
borrowed a chair so I could sit down and ice my ankle. My cooler was still about one third filled with
ice. I plunged my ankle in the ice and
kept it there for as long as I could stand the cold. After that, my ankle felt much better.
When I finished, there
were still two other runners on the course.
While I was icing my ankle, I saw both of them finish.
The heat index was 103 degrees
when I finished. I wasn’t expecting it
to get that hot. The good news is that the
next few days should be cooler.
I brought my gear back to
the car and drove back to the hotel.
When I got there, my first order of business was refueling. I drank two glasses of chocolate milk and a
large pastry that I got at Wal-Mart the day before. Then I took a hot bath, stretched my Achilles
tendons, and worked on a few muscles with a massage stick.
I’m disappointed that I still have never run a race on these trails without falling. I can try again tomorrow. Tomorrow’s race is on the same trail loop, but we’ll be running it in the opposite direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment