The Batona 50K: My First Ultra Finish

 

Well it’s been a few months in the making; but, I can finally call myself an Ultra-trail runner! I just finished the Batona Trail 50K; but, before I tell you about the race, here’s how I got to this point. I’ve been interested in ultra-marathons for a few years; but, I really didn’t get the urge to run one until my friend Jon asked me to pace him at the Burning River 102 Miler this past July. I was surprised he asked me since other than running in the mountains near Colorado Springs in February and the Santa Monica Mountain Range in March my training, if you want to call it that, had consisted mainly of 3-5 mile Hashruns (still does). I’m glad I was quick to say “Yes” because if I had really thought it over I should’ve said no, I just wasn’t prepared. Jon said he needed me to run through the night with him for the final 26 miles. Now in my mind I remember thinking wholly crap I haven’t gone that far in years; but, I shrugged off my doubts and agreed. I did warn him though that I couldn’t promise anything other than I’d try. I’m so glad I did. It was a great experience. I monitored his food and hydration intake as we went, made sure he urinated regularly, and tried to keep his mind off the miles with stupid jokes and stories. I’d refill his bottles at the aid stations and send him on his way before filling mine and then sprinting to catch up. Mile after mile I observed and learned from Jon and the others runners we came across. When we arrived at the finish line I peeled off to the side so he could cross the line on his own. Although other pacers went across with their runners, I didn’t feel right as I had only ran the last 26 miles not the full 102. That finish line was his, not mine. My finish line was yet to come.

 (Leaving the last aid station at Burning River)

 (Immediately after finishing 102 miles. How can he look so fresh?)

After that weekend, Jon and another friend, Dong, kept encouraging me to sign up for an ultra, filling my mind with visions of my own finish line experience. So, on a whim I signed up for the hilly Mountain Madness 50K being held on September 23^rd in Ringwood, NJ. It’s part of the NJ Trail Series found on https://sites.google.com/site/njtrailseries/. I set up a training plan to prepare for the race and everything. Then along came Hurricanes Harvey and Irma that put an abrupt stop to that as I began pulling 12-16 hour response shifts. I ran a grand total of 22 miles spread over three runs prior to race day. Being the stubborn male that I am, I ran the race anyways. I figured its only 50K, right? I felt great on race day as I toed the starting line. The race director, Rick McNulty, briefed us on the race markings, said go and off we went. The Mountain Madness 50k is a three loop course, with the middle being the longest. I finished the first loop feeling great and running strong. I grabbed some snacks and refilled my bottles quickly getting back on course in just over a minute. Everything was going great until around mile 16 or 17 when I fell on a short but steep downhill and jammed my left Achilles. I felt a pain I hadn’t felt since I tore the tendon a few years back so I made the decision to walk the remaining few miles back to the start. I told myself there would be plenty of other days to run. So I took my time limping back and taking pictures of my beautiful surroundings. Even though I dropped at mile 24.7 I had a great time there, experienced some great trails, and gained some humility along the way. In the past the idea of dropping from a race had never crossed my mind but I knew that I had made the right decision. I’ll return to Mountain Madness next year and I will have my redemption.

 

 

 

So this brings me to this past weekend’s Batona 50K/50M. The Batona 50M is a point-to-point, mostly single-track trail that runs along the entire 53.4 miles of the Batona Trail from its northern trailhead at Ong’s Hat to its southern most terminus in Bass River throughout the New Jersey Pine Barrens. I opted to run the 50k option that ends at historic Batsto Village. Due to this being a point-to-point race the distances are slightly longer due to available parking locations. The Batona 50K is actually 34 miles and the 50M is actually 53 miles. It was a frigid 20 degrees as we gathered at Ong’s Hat for our 6am start. With headlamps on we headed immediately into a thick single-track windy section. I run and hike the Batona a lot so I was able to warn the group I was with when a couple tricky turns were about to come. While the Batona is very well marked with pink blazes the entire length, it’s very easy to be memorized by the surrounding beauty and miss many of the turns. I heard after the race that a bunch of runners had missed turns along the way and had to back track. The group I was running with arrived at Pakim Pond (mile 8) in 1:20:00. I knew that was too fast but it felt really good. Plus, if I followed logic I wouldn’t had been there in the first place with such little training (actually none). I reached the half-way point (17miles) in 3:03:07 still feeling really good. I remember thinking, “This 50K stuff is easy”. I arrived at the Carranza aid station (21.5miles) in just over 4 hours still feeling great. I stopped to refill my water bottles and have a couple cups of warm chicken noodle soup. That’s when the lack of training hit me. Around mile 22 my right hamstring knotted up and from that point until Quakers Bridge area around mile 28. Even though I walked nearly 6 miles my slowest mile was 18:10. After replacing my front water bottle with the one in my pack and a quick snack I was able to combine a slow run with the walking for the remaining 6 miles arriving at the finish in 7:26:10 (13:14/mile pace). According to my Garmin my total moving time was 7:13:36 (12:52/mile moving pace). I placed 6^th out of the 12 that completed the 50K. The funny thing is that neither the time nor the place actual matter to me; I finished and that was my primary goal. I did have a secondary goal of finishing under 8 hours so I actually achieved both goals! So after 2 attempts I finally got my own finish line and like Jon at Burning River a huge smile of achievement and relief came across my face. After warming up in my car I drove over to the Evan’s Bridge aid station at mile 43.1 and then to the finish so I could cheer on my fellow Pineland Striders who were running the full 53 miles. I like to thank all the wonderful volunteers that came out to shuttle runners to the start so our cars would be waiting for us at the finish as well as all their support at the aid stations! The biggest lesson I learned that day was that although I can finish a 50K in a decent time without training it would’ve been a hell of a lot easier if I had. Maybe I’ll train for my next one…probably not. And for my hasher friends, this is FLaT On-out.

(8 miles down, feeling great!)

 (34 miles down, happy it's done!)

 

(Pineland Striders: Skip, John and Mike)

 

 

December 2015 (part 1): The Post-op Trail to Recovery

30Nov – 6Dec (Week 6 post-op):

Tuesday, 1Dec15: I had a great run in the rain on the Monmouth Battlefield State Park trails. I ran the Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Green trails all end-to-end. I didn’t see anyone else on the trails but I did see 5 deer. This was my first run without the knee brace and, at 5.6 miles, it was my longest outing since my operation and everything felt great.

Wednesday, 2Dec15: After yesterday’s test of my knee without the brace I chose to rest my legs and spend an hour doing yoga. I followed along with my favorite yoga DVD (Yin Yoga) by Travis Eliot which gets deep into the connective tissues by holding each stretch 3-7 minutes. This is part of the Ultimate Yogi series of DVDs. I always feel so good after doing this workout.

Thursday, 3Dec15: With my body’s great response to yesterday’s Yin Yoga session I chose to do the same tonight.

Friday, 4Dec15: I had planned to run this afternoon but my dog Sparta was sick so I stayed in with him and continued to work internally. I started with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series followed by some Pranayama (breathing) techniques and finally 20 minutes of meditation. While I still wish I had ran I do feel really good.

Saturday, 5Dec15: Sparta and I ran the Whites Bog inner 4.1 mile loop after work. This was my second run without the knee brace. Everything felt great, I think the yoga the last couple days helped. The water in the bog must be getting cold because Sparta only jumped in twice. .

Sunday, 6Dec15: Keeping with my focus this week on muscular health, I finished today off with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series and 36 Sun Salutations. This was a good week and my body truly feels good after all the yoga.

 

 

 

7-13Dec (Week 7 post-op):

Monday, 7Dec15: Took the day off, no training.

Tuesday, 8Dec15: I ran the 4.1 mile Whites Bog inner loop with my dog Sparta after dark. After returning home, I added P90X Stretch (1hr) and AB Ripper X (15min) followed by the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series, Pranayama breathing and finally some meditation. Tonight was a great night.

Wednesday, 9Dec15: Today I walked 4+ miles after work on the Lawrenceville dirt track. Then later in the evening I did 36 Sun Salutations and ended with my Ultimate Yogi Gentle Yoga DVD (1hr).

Thursday, 10Dec15: I was going to run but I was really tired so I took a nap after work and decided to just workout inside. I worked up a great sweat with my Tapout-XT Muay Thai DVD and then cooled down with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series.

Friday, 11Dec15: Today I just worked on a lot of stretching, no structured workout. I finally got to the last of the blue berries I picked this year so I added them to my peanut butter and onion sandwich for some extra flavor. I used Vermont Peanut Butter Co. chunky because it's all natural and it's made in Vermont like me so you know it's good!

Saturday, 12Dec15: This morning I ran with Ted and Diane Hardies on Black Run Preserve trails. This was my first time there. They have some great trails there consisting of single and double track as well as dirt roads and they are very well marked. After Ted and Diane left I ran on the trails and sand fields around the superfund site just south of Black Run Preserve. The trails were nice but it was the sandy fields that made me work. It was like running on the soft sand down the shore; a lot of effort for not much speed. It was a great morning. Then I got a long-needed massage in the afternoon and finished the day with an hour of Yin yoga just before bed.

Sunday, 13Dec: Today I hiked the Batona Trail leg 1 (8.1 miles) from Ong’s Hat to Pakim Pond with my kids Asia and Kriss and our dogs Sparta and Honda. While I have ran this many times it was the first time I had ever slowed down to hike it. It was a nice change of pace and a great time for the family to bond. This was Kriss’s first time on the trail and Asia’s third time on this section. The trail was mostly dry and the unseasonably warm weather felt great at nearly 70 degrees. I don’t imagine it will be anywhere near that warm when we hike the next sections.  

 

 

 

2014 Back to the Couch

 

So this is going to be less about running than I would like it to be but here it goes. With hind sight being perfect, I guess Sunday January 19, 2014 turned out to be a glimpse into my future. While running the Batona Trail leg 5 out and back my left Achilles tightened up and I was forced to do a survival shuffle for miles 17-19. And now, in December I sit on my couch with a throbbing foot trying to take my mind off the pain of yesterday’s Achilles surgery. The year that started with a great 16 miles of trails on January 2nd has come to an abrupt end with my foot in a cast. This is the story of how I got here. I had some great runs in January including a bunch on the Cranberry, Mt Misery and Batona Trails. My favorite run was a night time solo run on the Cranberry Trail in 4 degree weather, 9 inches of fresh powder, and the woods all to myself. I also started using our newly purchased Total Gym and increased my yoga workouts.

February was nothing special really. I had a few good runs but my Achilles was tight most of the month so I backed off on the miles and increased the yoga. The best part of the month was visiting my friends in Albania for a week. Though I didn’t run at all that week I did get a lot of walking in. Another high point was having a five hour layover in Rome which gave opportunity for a very quick walking tour of some piazzas and the Coliseum. It was so beautiful, Rome is definitely on my future vacation list. My only race was the Ugly Mudder Trail Race in Reading, PA. Besides being really hilly this year’s race had the addition of over a foot of fresh snow and a layer of crust to top it off. This turned the trail into mostly single track with plenty of blood stains from the crust cutting people’s ankles open.

March was amazing and my favorite month this year. I spent the entire month in Albania working and hanging out with great friends. I worked out every day running, hiking, lifting and yoga sessions. I helped a group of very professional Albanian military instructors prepare their Officer Candidates to travel to New Jersey where they would attend U.S. Officer Candidate School. I ate a lot of meat and drank a lot of raki (AKA moonshine). The most amazing day was spent on Maja e Kruja where I participated in a pilgrimage into the Bektashi temple located in a cliff-side cave high above the ancient city of Kruja. This was followed by about 3 hours of feasting on fresh meats, breads and fruit. The day ended with a professional futbol (soccer) game between KF Tirana and KF Partizani at Qemal Stafa in downtown Tirana. It was an exciting game which included fires in the stands, explosives thrown onto the field, and ended in a tie with a last minute Partizani score. I met up with friends and finished the evening off with some more food and a lot more raki! Other favorite spots visited included an ancient Roman amphitheater in the seaside city of Durres and a guided tour of the National Art Museum thanks to my good friend Tea who works there.

 

 

  

April and May seemed to fly by so quickly. I had some great runs including Whites Bogs on Mondays, Cranberry Trail Wednesday nights, Tyler Arboretum and Triple Crown trail races and a hash run hosted by three-balls at his Pennsylvanian Barn of Amazement which includes an actual fighter plane hanging from the rafters.  Oh yeah and I finally scored a perfect 300 on my Army Physical Fitness Test! I also co-haired Jim Pate’s Birthday Hash and received my hash name, of which I can not publish here.

During June my left Achilles grew tighter and tighter and the knot on my heel got larger with each run and I required more days off between each workout. I raced the Wissahickon Trail Classic in Philly and my all-time favorite race, the annual Bouncing Buns clothing-optional trail race at Sunny Rest Resort in Palmerton, PA! As the soccer season started in July, my struggle with my left Achilles grew worse. My running shrunk to just the time I was on the pitch and even that was a daily struggle. Even though I couldn't train much I ran the River-to-Sea 91 mile relay race across New Jersey August 2nd with a great group of friends from the Pineland Striders. We didn't score very high but we had a great day running anyways starting at the Delaware River and ending on the beach in Manasquan, NJ. Then it happened, on August 11^th during the soccer playoffs, just as I broke free past the last defender down the right line I heard a pop and fell to the ground. It felt like a rubber band had snapped. My game was done and so was my year. An MRI a couple days later confirmed my suspicion, I had torn my Achilles. On a good note, our team went on to beat the Jamaican team in the finals 3-1 to win the tournament.     

September, October and November was full of physical therapy and a lot of limping but no running. Finally, on December 12 I got a bone spur removed and my Achilles repaired so now I sit on my couch with my foot in a cast waiting and dreaming of getting back out on the trails. I know it won’t happen for a few more months but I'm looking forward to lacing up my Inov-8s and taking that first step. With my knee fixed in 2013 and now my Achilles in 2014 I know 2015 is going to be a great year!

January 2014

Last year I tore my meniscus late in January turning my life upside down for months. Not being able to run for months forced me to look within myself and refocus on the basics as I recovered. This year, January was a great month. It included some fun runs with my wife Denise, my dog Sparta and the Pineland Striders, and a few awesome solo runs on fresh powder.

Sunday, 05 January I ran the Mistress Dee extended Mt Misery White Trail along with a shorter loop for 16 miles. It was a lot of fun running on roughly 4 inches of powder left from the week’s storm. This solo run gave me lots of time to glide quietly through the woods listening to the sounds of nature. I didn’t wear a watch; I just concentrated on form and ran however I felt. Some miles were slow while others seem to fly by. 

Sunday 19 January, I ran the Batona Trail leg 5 out and back between Evans Bridge, located on Route 563, and Bass River.  Thanks to last year’s trail redirection it is now roughly 9.6 miles each way. Roughly 20 Pineland Striders joined in the run with 4 of us completing it as an out & back totaling 19+ miles. This portion of the Batona passes by historic Martha’s Furnace. I ran to Bass River with Jim Pate and Trail Dog Danny. After a quick shirt change and GU I headed back to the start. I felt great and cruised mile after mile until I got to Martha’s Furnace (roughly mile 16) and then I started to bonk. My left Achilles tightened up and I was forced to do a survival shuffle the last couple miles. Even though those last couple miles were tough, it was a fantastic morning to run and a great start to my day.

I continued my Wednesday night trail runs. On 22 January, I ran the Cranberry Trail solo. It was an awesome run with 4 degrees, 9 inches of fresh powder, and the woods all to myself. The Park Police pulled up to me as I got ready to run, rolled his window down shaking his head in disbelief and said "Tell me you're not going hiking in this weather?" So I replied with a smirk, "No way… I’m going running!" Some of my family and friends think I am crazy to run in this weather but as I learned growing up and running in Vermont, it’s all about proper layering. I wore 4 layers on top, 2 layers on bottom, double gloves, and a fleece-lined face mask. I actually had to open the outer two layers to vent some heat out. It was like a 14 mile effort to run the 7+ miles due to the snow but I loved it. It was the most fun run I’ve had in a long time. I hope there will be more like it before this winter is over. The only thing that got cold were my toes and that wasn’t until I had finished and was warming up my car to drive home.

If I was to do a Geico commercial, it would be something like this, “Smart wool socks =$20. Black Diamond headlamp = $40.  INOV-8 Bare Grip 200 running shoes = $90. The look on the Park Police officer’s face when you tell him you’re going running snow-covered  trails at night in 4 degrees and sub-zero wind chills= priceless!”.

I spent the last week as a recovery week with no running but rather concentrating on mind and body with at least 2 hours of yoga each day.

December 2013

December was another great month. Besides increasing my mileage, high points were watching my dog Sparta enjoy his first night trail run and his first run in snow. He reminded me of myself, when as a kid, I couldn’t wait to hike or run trails no matter what the Vermont weather threw at me. I finally have that feeling back again. I don’t care how wet, how cold, how windy it is. I enjoy every rain drop on my face, every snow flake on my tongue, every puddle I splash in…I just love to run again!

 

I started the month by running 22 miles on the first. Dee Perkowitz, Jim Pate, Trail Dog Danny and I ran an extended Mount Misery loop. After a quick water bottle fill and snack at the cars, Dee and I ran a second loop. It was a beautiful day to run with temperatures in the mid-to-high 30s and no wind. We saw flocks of tundra swans in the cranberry bogs again and the local dog sled teams practicing for the upcoming race season. This was my longest run in about 3 years and about 9 miles longer than anything I’ve ran since my knee surgery. Although my legs were tired when I was done, my knees were fine and I couldn’t stop smiling. It was a great feeling of accomplishment. It looks like my recovery is finally complete.

On Sunday the 15^th, I ran the Batona Trail leg 4 with 19 other Pineland Striders. This section of trail traverses 9.2 miles of pine-oak forest and a few cedar swamps between historic Batsto village in Wharton State Forest and Evans Bridge on Rt. 563 where the Wading River meets the highway .Ten of us ran an out & back for 18.4 miles. The weather turned out great. Winter Storm Electra passed thru over night with rain washing away most of our snow and leaving plenty of cold puddles in its place. The best part of the day was seeing a bald eagle flying overhead near Evans Bridge. It was the first one I’ve seen in years. They’re such beautiful birds. The worse part of my day was almost impaling myself with a downed tree. Even though my chest hurt for days I’m still glad I ran. It was a great run, great trail, great group… a great day to be running trails!

Photo by Robert Zmirich

Photo by Jim Pate

 

We continued our Wednesday night Cranberry Trail runs. December 11^th was a fantastic night to run.

The moon reflected bright enough off the snow that we turned our headlamps off and ran by moon light. This might not seem exciting to road runners; but, night running in the woods without a light is a rare treat that only happens once in a while.

 

On Sunday the 22^nd I returned to run Fall Mountain in North Walpole, NH.  It was the first time back since August. That time I was just recovering from knee surgery and had to take it easy. This time I felt great and got some good hill work in. The trail down the back side was pretty challenging with lots of snow, ice, and water running over slick leave-covered rocks. Check out the photo of the fog and snow blowing through my hometown of Bellows Falls, VT.

 

My month ended just as it started, with a 22 mile run. About a dozen Striders showed up for Trail Dog Danny’s 10^th birthday run on a rain-drenched Mount Misery white trail. While everyone else ran one loop, Dee and I ran a second loop. Although my toes were freezing from being wet so long it was a great way to end the year!

November 2013

November was another good month. I continued to test my post-op knee and it feels great. Next month I’ll try some longer runs. High points of the month included running the Batona Trail leg 3 and returning to the Mount Misery Trail on Sunday mornings. I’ve been running the Cranberry Trail Wednesday nights for 6 weeks now. One night I forgot my head lamp but rather than make excuses I ran anyways, shadowing close behind Jim Pate and Trail Dog Danny.

Sunday, November 24^th I ran the Batona Trail leg 3 with roughly 30 members of the Pineland Striders. This section covers 12.5 miles of pine and oak forests and numerous cedar swamps from Carranza Memorial in Tabernacle to Batsto Village in Wharton State Forest. This section of trail is one of my favourites as it never crosses a paved or travelled roadway, its complete wilderness. Temperatures hovered just under 30 degrees with a constant wind chilling the air. Jim’s warm glow-wine at the end was much appreciated. Five crazies ran an out-and-back for a cold 25 miles. Hopefully I can join them soon.

The other Sundays I joined Jim, Dee, and Trail Dog Danny on another of my favorite trails, the Mount Misery white trail. We saw flocks of beautiful snow geese in the cranberry bogs resting from their long migratory flight, and dog sled teams practicing with their wheeled-sleds. Thanks to Jim we had plenty of deer jerky at our water stop! Wintergreen berries were ripe for the picking so I stopped on the way home and picked a bag full. They are great to eat raw or soak the leaves into a minty tea.

 

 

 

 

 

October 2013

October was a good month with lots of short runs in New Jersey with my dog, Sparta. He finally behaves well enough to take him off his leash. He loves when we run in Whites Bog because he can take mid-run swims and soak me when he comes out. I worked on stretching also with yoga 2-3 times per week. High points of the month included running a couple legs of the 53 mile Batona Trail and restarting our Wednesday night Cranberry Trail runs.

 Sunday, October 20 I ran the Batona Trail leg 2 with roughly 30 members of the Pineland Striders. This section covers 13.5 miles from Pakim Pond, Brendan T. Byrne State Forest, traversing around the village of Chatsworth, passes over Apple Pie Hill and finishes at the Carranza Memorial south of Tabernacle in Wharton State Forest.  This section is beautiful and thanks to a reroute last year, now includes a technical section of narrow foot bridges through a cedar swamp and much to my liking some mud! Temperatures were 26 degree at the start and 30 at the finish with a constant cold wind all morning. We enjoyed warm wine and deer jerky at the finish thanks to Jim Pate and Trail Dog Danny. Carranza Memorial is a 12 foot Aztec design monument on the crash site of Captain Emilio Carranza, a Mexican goodwill pilot whose plane crashed July 13, 1928 while returning to Mexico.

Carranza Memorial

Pakim Pond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunday, October 27 I ran the Batona Trail leg 1 with Jeremy Helm, Mike Bialecki, and Sean Toohey. Leg 1 covers 8+ miles of rolling hills, through hardwood forest and cedar swamp from Ongs Hat to Pakim Pond in Brendan T. Byrne State Forest. While Sean and I called it a day, Jeremy and Mike continued on including leg 2 as well totaling roughly 22 miles. The temperature was a comfortable 35 degrees at the start with no wind, a great morning to run! 

Wednesday night trail runs are back! After my long break due to knee surgery, I finally started running my usual Wednesday night Cranberry Trail runs. It’s a mostly flat combination of single track and hard-packed dirt road with very few roots. Head lamps are a must this time of year as we start at 6:30 pm at the Brendan T. Byrne State Forest welcome center, run to Pakim Pond and back. Choices include a 2.3 mile short loop, 6 mile Cranberry Trail (actual), and 7.2 mile Cranberry Trail (extended).