MOUNT WASHINGTON ROAD RACE

USATF Mountain Championship - Mt. Washington Road Race 7.6M in 1:06:18* NEW State of Maryland Record (1:10:37 - 1990);
18th in USATF Mountain Championship; 19th Overall
SPLITS - 6:35, 14:55 (8:20), 23:41 (8:45), Halfway - 31:53, 32:44 (9:03), 1:00:41

Alright, so where do I begin? Obviously, I had researched the Maryland Record and that was goal #1, 1:10:37. I noted on some Northeasterner blogs certain splits to be able to hit that time and while laying in bed the night before the race, I settled on 9:00 miles - simple math: 9', 18', 27', 36', 45', 54', 63' would get me the record. Of course, I was still feeling quite sore from Dr. Bross' treatment and my legs were still trash from my 12 x 400m workout, but I got to bed by 7:30PM feeling very motivated and pumped. I would wake up at 6AM, not eat a single thing, and be ready to race.

On race morning, I was not feeling peppy. There was a lot of waiting around, as I had to coordinate a ride down from the mountain top. Got in a sporadic warm-up, and then headed up the first 400m of the climb. I was feeling so confident driving around NH because I felt their "8% grade" was less steep than MD 8% grade, but those first 400m I knew it was going to be a long day. Thankfully, I lined up next to Dave Dunham and took a peek at his wrist calculator. It looked like he was gunning for a 67' minute run so I said, "hmm, I've got to hang with this 47-year old legend, he knows what he's doing on this course." So, the cannon boomed and I got out relaxed behind at least 30-40 guys and right behind Dave and Nate Jenkins (2:14 Marathon). Once we started climbing, my natural rhythm took me past Dave and I was a bit confident. However, before the 1M mark, I was in trouble. Although my watch read 6:35 (wanted closer to 6:45-6:50) and I was comfortable, I was running on one leg (right) and was not smooth or powerful whatsoever. I didn't want to make any moves, but I started to get too aggressive and immediately got into a hole, oxygen-debt wise. On a pretty steep section before 2M, I actually walked two strides because my left quad was just failing on me. But I got going and never looked back. I was running pretty roughly to 3M, but then the canopy pulled back and I was re-vitalized. It was great seeing the sun and sky. I was full of life, but man, the climb was on! This was crazy. I approached halfway and saw sub-32:00!!! I couldn't drop out now. I had a legitimiate shot at doing something great. I just had to keep plugging away. I was literally just throwing myself up this hill, no true running form, just powering up.

I think I saw another 8:45 mile from 4-5 miles but by then my mind was playing tricks on me: "how much higher is this damn mountain!" Come on... Mile 5-6 was by far the steepest and most difficult, but by this point I was aiming on reeling in both Nate Jenkins and Kevin Tilton, who had worked past me at Mile 2. I was inching up on them with every step. However, mile 5-6, on a dirt covered road, was so steep and never-ending. It was dreadful, but it was beautiful. I kept looking up to spy the finish somewhere and then I saw it, it almost looked like it was on another mountain peak! At this point, I passed Jarred Freeman, a mountain skier/runner and kept going. Mile 6 split 9:14 and I was stoked. I was running very, very well. Now, I had to get back to work on some steep climbs for mile 7 to show up and thankfully this was taken up by focusing on catching Nate Jenkins and how impressive that would sound to my coach (turns out it did not impress him much at all, ha). My left calf started a mini cramp at this point, but I put it aside and stormed by Nate at 7M, almost putting myself into debt too soon. Shortly after the catch, the final stretch came into sight and I finished up quite well, seeing 1:06:15 on the clock! I had to smile. Not in my wildest dreams did I think about 1:06, because 1:06 was a traditional Top 5-10 on this course, but today, I felt I was behind a legit pack of 12-15 studs that I never saw on the mountain. They were just gone.

This was single-handedly the most difficult thing I have done. I had to dig to a pain-cave I had not visited in quite some time, if ever. But it was all worth it. I out-climbed some great runners, all 2:20-2:25 marathon guys and mountain guys that own the Northeast and trails. I did not have a practice run-up, I did not have a more than 25 min continuous run uphill on a treadmill at 8% grade. I really think my climbing skills are strong. However, I am not sure I could run much faster than 1:03 on this course, and mentally, it will take a year to get over the pain associated with this run. Man, that was fun.