HAULIN' OFF THE MOUNTAIN

March 23, 2014

ELEANOR, WV - In search of returning to the world of ultra running, Gabriel drove out to West Virginia to partake in the Haulin' in the Holler 50 km trail run.

The drive was long... close to six hours, which Gabriel was unprepared for... nor was his Achilles. By the start of the race, exhausted from the long drive, Gabriel set out conservatively but within a few miles noticed a painful jab tightness in his right Achilles. He dismissed the pain and continued, letting his body work out the knots created by sitting for such a long period of time.

The course was great. Much hillier than anticipated, with a multitude of switchbacks and climbs. The trail was in good shape... muddy in some places, but overall good run on and a welcome relief from the rocks of the Mid-Atlantic. As he gained on the 25K leaders by the halfway point, the group went off course.. stumbling around, the found the red ribbons and continued on, adding about a half mile to the run. It wasn't too mentally devastating, but what was mentally devastating was the descent back to the finish line... for 5 miles one could see the finish, but the snake-like switchbacks just teased one to the finish line.

He crossed the first loop slightly over two hours... and the pain in his Achilles beckoned him to retire. But, he knew he had a substantial lead and was actually feeling quite fluid.. and so, he set off for the second loop, with a plan of just making it to the next aid station (20 miles). Time-wise, he was still good, and as he ran amongst the gun shots in the background (a little too close for comfort), he focused on the run. He had a great section of running from 20-25 miles, but then began frantically searching for the 25 mile aid station, which couldn't come soon enough. He was losing focus and energy (ran with 4 gels, no water). The 68-degree morning was getting to him and he re-focused, finally making it to the final aid station with a substantial lead (second placed would finish 12-minutes in arrears).

And thus began the mantra, "get off the mountain, just get off the mountain.." but the hills were relentless, the switchbacks unending.. until he finally made it home in one piece and disappointed he didn't negative split (he might have if not for all the stops to check his Achilles and longer stays at the aid stations).

It was a great run that wiped him out, but he was proud to his accomplishment: a course record by over half an hour.

It was a good day... and then six hours of driving back home was a welcome rest for his legs.

ASSAULT ALMOST ENDED IN DEATH

March 8, 2014

WALESKA, GA - As the gods would have it, the weather cooperated, and Gabriel was allowed to travel to Atlanta, Georgia, in search of a legitimate fitness check.

The La Sportiva Mountain Cup race, the Assault on Garland Mountain, would provide the platform. Although Gabriel has been training on snow and ice covered trails, limiting his fast running on trails, he was still confident in his fitness... now he just needed to prove it.

Arriving the night before, a quick check of the course revealed a muddy, soft surface with undulating hills. It looked prime for a good run. Race morning was crisp and beautiful, as temperatures would rise into the 50s by the start. Warming up in the parking lot was NC State legend, Ryan Woods (3:43/8:02/13:50 - currently 4th in the Mountain Cup), US Mountain Goat Jason Bryant (yearly Mountain Cup top 5 finisher), and an unknown Strava ambassador that looked fit (would be Matt Haley, 8:45/15:17/31:56).

The race started with a 150-meter sprint to the trail head. Gabriel was so full of running he wanted to lead into the trail, but the Strava athlete surged ahead. Knowing Woods was pretty fit, Gabriel explosively surged past the leader past the mile to get a clearer view of the muddy trail. However, by the second mile, Gabriel was already spent by the effort. The effort of such fast running quickly put in him in oxygen debt and already his form was flailing. Woods cruised past by 2.5 miles and was gone, easily extending his lead to over 3-minutes by halfway, while Gabriel slipped into third on the long downhill to the back half of the course.

It was a 9.6 mile race, and Gabriel had to stop at the 3 mile aid station to relax, take a gel, gain composure, and try to focus on running hard. He had done so much work leading up to this point to allow a stupid rooking racing mistake (starting too fast) to do him in... there were still 6.5 miles of muddy, hilly trails to go, surely he could rally. However, the next few miles were more of the same - stopping to stretch a non-functioning left leg, but noticing he was gaining on second on every climb. With this insight, Gabriel formulated a plan - he would work his hardest to reach the final 0.6 mile, 7% climb, with the 2nd place runner... and then over-whelm him on the climb.

Finally, by settling into thought, Gabriel found a rhythm and started running well for the first time since the opening mile. He caught second with 1.5 miles to go, surprisingly stormed a downhill section to get a few more meters, and then just attacked the final climb to place second in 59:29. It was a very strong effort over the final third of the course that gave Gabriel relief of a job well done.

Well, lesson learned. The trail cannot be won at the head...