My 2018 Rockin' K Trail Run, a Solid "C"

That's the way that the world goes 'round
You're up one day, the next you're down 
It's a half an inch of water and you think you're gonna drown
That's the way that the world goes 'round - John Prine

Beautiful pic of the infamous Rockin' K water crossing by Mile90 Photography (after the ice melted)

The Rockin' K Trail Run is a really special race to me for a lot of reasons. It is also the toughest course that I've been on. I've run the marathon (one loop) version five times (2013-2017), but this year was my first attempt at the 50 mile (two loops) race.

The temperature at the 7:00 AM start was 15 degrees. With almost no wind, it actually felt warmer than the night before at the pre-race meal when the temp was mid 30's and dropping with a freezing gusty wind. Both the pre-race meal and the hour before the start of the race have a family reunion feel to me. So many friends and familiar faces to gab with about (mostly) running or anything really. Mostly we talked about how cold it would be going through the waist deep water crossing and how beautiful the snow would look once the sun came up.

Pre-run pic by John Knepper. Ready for some miles! Love the look of the frozen blacktop. 

(L-R Mary Ann Frevert, Keith Dowell, Me, Shari Hicks)

After photobombing a few selfies, it was time to start. I felt really good through most of the first loop. I kept telling myself to take it easy and not push it, since I would need plenty left in the tank for the second loop. I was hiking up hills that I normally would run and peeling off layers of clothing as needed so that I wouldn't overheat. With 3-4 miles left in Loop 1 though, I started feeling a little fatigued and realized that I was hiking the hills whether or not I wanted to. My Loop 1 time was 5:37, right where I planned it would be, but I wasn't feeling as fresh as I'd hoped.

In the first few miles of this beautiful course, pic by Mile90 Photography, they're awesome!

I've read the Rockin' K race info many times, but apparently had always skipped the part about cutoff times since they only apply to the 50 mile race. About a week prior to the race I finally noticed and realized that cutoffs could be a problem for me. The first cutoff requires that you finish Loop 1 in 6 1/2 hours (1:30 PM). I knew that I could do that as my previous single loop times ranged from 5:01 to 5:45. The second cutoff time is reaching Gate 6 Aid Station in 9 hours (4:00 PM). I felt pretty good about making that cutoff too as long as I wasn't having any major issues. The third cutoff time is to finish the Big Bluff Loop and be back to Aid Station 6 in 10 hours (5:00 PM). That worried me as I suspected that I'd be moving pretty slowly at that point and the 5 mile Big Bluff Loop has always been a beautiful time suck for me. I love that part of the course, but after leaving the scenic bluffs overlooking the Smoky Hill River, I swear that it's all uphill back to Gate 6 Aid Station. I slow down and the clock seems to speed up. The last cutoff is to finish the race within 13 hours (8:00 PM). That one didn't really matter to me, as I figured that if I was able to finish, I would have accomplished my goal of going 50 hard miles to help prepare me for the Hawk Hundred. If I didn't get an official finish, I would be OK with that.

End of Loop 1, pic by Mile90 Photography

In my training, I'd really emphasized being mentally prepared to leave the aid station at the end of Loop 1. I worried that I would be tempted to call it a good effort, grab a veggie burger and a beer, and just hang out with friends. As it turned out, even though I suspected that I wouldn't be able to make the cutoff times, I never doubted that I would at least start my second loop. I did, but I was moving really slowly, alternating between walking and running even on the flats, and my hopes of finishing were sinking fast. An hour or so later, I felt better and was running pretty well again, gaining confidence that I could do it. Eventually though, I was hiking more than running and reality started to set in. You know how every race report at some point says "my quads were trashed"? I don't really like that saying as it seems overused, and I like it even less now that I know what they're talking about. I felt like my legs just couldn't hold me stable enough to run the downhills, kinda like a car with bad brakes. So, at this point, I couldn't really run the downhills or the uphills, I could run the flats for a while, but before long, I'd find myself hiking instead of running. Still though, it was a beautiful day and I was enjoying every minute of it!

I intentionally hadn't looked at my watch all day, but decided to take a peek to see if I could make it to Gate 6 Aid Station before the cutoff at 4:00, it was 3:47. Since Loop 2 is shorter than Loop 1, there is a section of trail called Alexander's Cutoff that the 50 mile runners take on their second loop. I'd never ran that section before, so I had no idea how far away the aid station was. I had just come to terms with the fact that I would miss the 4:00 cutoff time when I popped up over a hill and saw the aid station about 100 yards away. I made it with 5 minutes to spare.

Volunteer extraordinaire Natasha Thomas-North and Race Director extraordinaire Elden Galano at the Gate 6 Aid Station (not pictured volunteer extraordinaire Billy Weaver and countless other extraordinary volunteers, pic by Mile90 Photography)

I could see that the volunteers were starting to tear the aid station down, as any runners that arrived after 4:00 couldn't continue on. After a quick internal debate about continuing, I filled my bottles, grabbed some Oreo's and started off. A few hundred yards down the trail though, I came to the top of a hill and had a good look around at the beautiful scenery (although the snow had melted away), ate my Oreo's and decided to call it a day.  If I was to keep going, I would certainly miss the next cutoff as there was no way I could run the Big Bluff Loop in one hour (probably not even with fresh legs). I really hated the thought of the volunteers waiting another couple of hours for me to finish, but really, I just didn't think anything would be gained by continuing. I'd proven to myself what I needed to for the day, hopefully I'll get another day to beat the clock on this course.

Someone got a finisher medal, I'll be back for one next year. (pic by Mile90 Photography)

I carried a handheld water bottle (just like the one pictured above) for the first loop, and that worked pretty well. I didn't drink a lot during the first half of the loop since it had been so cold (in fact, I had to "chew" on the bite valve at times to clear the ice), but I filled the bottle at the Gate 6 Aid Station and again at the unmanned Gate 2 Aid Station, and had drank the bottle dry by the end of Loop 1. For Loop 2, I put on my hydration pack with my pre-filled bottles of coconut water and chia seeds. I don't really like running with a pack as the bottles in front bruise my ribcage, but I knew that I'd be moving slower on Loop 2 and the weather would warm up, so I'd likely need both bottles. I also wolfed down an avocado sandwich, lots of dates, and a half a bottle of coconut water while using my car as an aid station/drop bag between loops. I thought about switching into dry socks, but my feet felt fine and I didn't want to waste any more time than was necessary. I carried a baggie full of coconut covered date rolls that I munched on periodically. I've eaten dates in past training runs and races, they are a high calorie food that I can eat easily, even when I don't feel like eating.

So, my test score for the race was 38 (miles) out of a possible 50 (or 76/100). 76% is a solid "C" as I recall, basically nature's way of saying "Nice try kid, thanks for playing, hopefully that wasn't your best effort". I should emphasize that "C" is the grade for my race, the Rockin' K gets an "A+" every time, that I've ran this race six times now kind of says it all. Maybe I worried too much about my mental game for this race and not enough about my physical training. I had run 30 miles of Bunker Hill repeats (the Bunker Hillapalooza) just two weeks prior to the race to help prepare me, but Bunker Hill isn't technical (no rocks, roots, uneven footing, etc.) and there is a lot of flat trail in between the ascents and descents. I still felt pretty fresh after those 30 miles, so I assumed that I was ready for the Rockin' K, but I probably should've returned for 10-15 more miles of hills the next day. I will definitely include more technical downhill running in prep for The Hawk as I'll be training on that same course at Clinton Lake (overnight Hawk loops in August anyone?).

The only race that I'm currently signed up for now is the Hawk Hundred, on 09/08/18. I will almost certainly run the Night Hawk 50k in June, but I haven't committed to it yet. I may put up a training post or two between now and September. My current plan is to take it easy for the next few weeks just to clear out the blahs of being in continuous training mode since January. After that I will slowly start building towards hopefully being in the best shape of my life this fall!