Sunday, April 19, 2015

SCAR

Lately, I have been sort of moving away from racing ultras and doing long, seemingly pointless, runs on my own. I am not fast enough to be even remotely competitive in organized ultras and I get similar (or even more, in some cases) satisfaction in finishing a hard run. Last year, it was the JMT, and this year, so far, it was SCAR.

SCAR is short for Smokies Challenge Adventure Run. In general, I shy away from things that have the term "adventure" in them officially. Or "tough" or other words that convey a similar sentiment. However, SCAR is not an organized event, and the acronym is just a stand-in for something really cool - run across the Smokies on the Appalachian Trail in a day. So, 72(ish) miles with +/- 19000 ft of elevation change. With aid/crew/bail out only accessible at about halfway, it is a bit committing. I decided to do it northbound - starting at Fontana Dam and going to Davenport Gap.

Before the run, I had been pretty apprehensive - weather looked a bit iffy, bears usually just wake up hungry around this time from their winter slumber, and so do snakes (copperheads and timber rattlers in the Smokies). I am mortified of snakes with diamond heads and oval eyes. But, I knew that once I started the run, I would feel better, and the statistics are on my side, anyway - no hiker has yet been eaten by a bear or a snake on the AT. As far as training, I felt pretty good - had trained quite a bit on hills this spring. However, I had never run this section of the AT - so, that was unknown,

On Friday (April 17) evening, I made Alicia drive me to Fontana Dam (1700 ft) to drop me off. I started from Fontana Dam visitor center at 10:42 pm and entered the boundary of the Smokies on the AT at 10:49 pm. The first several miles on the AT are uphill, but very gradual, and the trail is pretty smooth. However, despite the gradual feeling nature of the trail - one quickly gets to above 4000 ft (and remains above that for most of the time). I wasn't pushing myself at this point and thought that if this type of trail continues, this is going to be a way easier run than I had thought. As it turned out - I was very wrong. The "fun" starts with the climb to Rocky Top (or, some name like that), just before Thunder Mountain, and keeps on till the end. The overall thing is quite brutal - no wonder it is worthy of being called a challenge.

It had rained quite a bit recently, and the trail was very muddy. That was not an issue on the gradual parts, but as soon the trail angle became steeper, the slick muddy trail led to a fair bit of sliding backwards and wasting energy. When that started to happen, I rued my choice of shoes for this first section. So, yeah, the trail not only got inherently harder, but also became more slippery. Either due to having to work more due to the slippery trail, or due to some flaw in my stride, my hamstrings got pretty tired by mile 25. Great - only 47 more miles on tired hamstrings. To keep my spirits up, I kept telling myself that the final 5 miles are all downhill (3000 ft drop in about 5 miles at the end), and my quads are still quite good.

I didn't see any bears or snakes. I saw several frogs on the trail. However, they seemed unfazed as I passed by them - they didn't even attempt to move when my feet hit the ground mere inches from them (narrow trail). It was slightly disconcerting to me - I can't even scare a frog, so what chance do I have against a bear or a snake?

As the sun was coming up, I realized that I was going to be a bit behind schedule (I had told Alicia to expect me at Newfound Gap - the only crew stop at mile 41ish - around 12 hours after dropping me off at Fontana) - but probably by not a lot. However, as the morning progressed, I started to feel sleepy and the going got to be a struggle for a while. Time for a caffeinated Gu. After the gel kicked in, I recovered. However, more time was lost by then, and I got to Clingmans Dome (~6600 ft) about an hour or so after I had expected to be there. On the plus side, the views from the trail were absolutely spectacular. A bit after Clingmans Dome, I ran into Alicia running up from Newfound Gap. We, then, ran to Newfound Gap - about 13.5 hours after the start, where actual food and coffee was waiting for me. I changed into my Hokas to get ready for the downhills. As I sat dawdling at the stop for a bit longer than necessary, Alicia kicked me back on the trail - "Onwards!"

The second segment began with a big uphill. And. although the net change from Newfound Gap to Davenport Gap is about minus 3000 ft, the most of the net loss is at the very end: there are still very significant climbs for a while. The trail is mostly pretty decent too - however, my trashed hamstrings meant that I could only run downhills and uphills were a slow shuffle. When I tried running the few flat sections that were there, my hamstrings immediately started complaining.

The slow going was getting to be frustrating (maybe I should just accept the truth and embrace the name of my blog), and I decided to try something different. So far, I had been using hiking poles. I stopped using them on uphills to see how that would work. After a bit, I realized that my average pace had inched up a bit (on an equivalent terrain). Hmm - maybe my use of the hiking poles is inefficient. People sometime ask me (and other distance runners) what I think when I am running. I usually say that whatever catches my mind at that moment. Analyzing my hiking pole usage is a prime example of that. Anyway, from that point, I used the poles only for rough downhills (of which there were plenty towards the last part of the trail).

About 10 miles from the finish, I thought I had a shot at finishing in just over 22 hours. I even texted Alicia such an optimistic time (there are a few places on the trail that one can get cell signal). Then, began the first of the two big descents. The first one was very bone jarring - several jump downs over big wood steps. I could still go at an okay pace for a while, but soon, the pain of repeated jumps over wood steps took its toll. I slowed down a bit more - but still though I had a chance of being under 23 hours. However, on another downhill section, I twisted my gimpy ankle a bit. That made me slow down substantially - more out of being careful than due to any issues with that ankle. For the next couple of miles, things started to fall apart. I probably was going 2 miles an hour on the top of the last downhill for a bit. Then, I realized that if I don't get my act together, I will miss the 24 hour mark! That spurred me and I started running at a reasonable pace again. About a mile from the finish, I saw a headlamp on the trail. Alicia! At 10:15, I got to Davenport Gap (2000 ft) - well and truly scar'red - everything hurt. But, glad to be done - even though I was a couple of hours slower than I had planned. Still, (barely) under 24 hours (23:33 or 23:26 depending on where the counting started - Fontana Dam Visitors Center or just after the Dam at the apparent boundary).

In hindsight, I made two mistakes. One - starting so soon after all the rain. The muddy trail was quite slippery in the first half, making me work significantly more on the uphills. Two - inefficient use of hiking poles. My natural tendency is to have big arm swings. However, that translates to farther apart hiking pole placements, In turn, that leads to taking bigger, hamstring unfriendly, steps on uphills. Either I need to practice using hiking poles more efficiently or not use them at all on uphills. Well, add a third mistake - using my piece of s*** Salomon shoes for the first half. I chose them for the night section because they have high ankles for added support that is pliable enough for an easy jog (I wasn't planning on anything more than an easy jog at night). But, the sole rubber is pretty bad - these are trail hiking shoes with no traction on anything other than probably bone dry fire roads. Or, maybe, not even on those.

Despite the pain and the muddy unpleasantness, it was still fun. And, I would probably try it again (maybe southbound next time) at some point.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing your experience. I am a runner and recently have started changing my focus from marathons to trail runs and ultras. I would love to make an attempt at SCAR. I am looking at next year. Your report has been starred and will be a reference for me in the future. Thanks again.

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