Franklin Mountains Skyrunner 50K Trail Race El Paso Texas

I signed up for this race early in year, attracted to the publicized difficulty and climbs, not really aware of the terrain or potential heat issues, I let the "Skyrunner" series billing draw me into what I believed would be a severe test of both physical & mental limits. I somehow thought that running a 100 mile race 3 weeks later, since I see other ultra runners doing difficult back to back races within 30-60 days should not be a big deal. 

After my first ever DNF at Black Hills 100 in June from heat/dehydration related issues and another dismal performance at the Fossil Valley 9 hour Endurance Run (I shut it down at 8hrs) due to poor heat management again, I rethought my training & race planning and decided that I needed to get back to basics that I coach:

A) Don't die
B) Finish the race
C) Let time take care of itself

I believed I went out a little too hard at Black Hills and didn't manage fuel/fluids well enough and I knew my lowered mileage training needed to be modified to get the most out of the little time I was putting in. (Career pressure had no signs of letting up)

I thought I needed a much more experienced coach to bounce this whole scenario over with, but I never got around to getting that done, I did run bits and pieces by trusted counsel and others, just to make sure I wasn't doing anything totally stupid. So with less than 60 days to the race, I began running as much as possible in the hottest conditions, pushing the effort level up or varying levels on runs under 2 hrs. I climbed as many stairs as possible 4 flights at work, 21 at home and incorporated those into my runs from home. On my long runs, I tried to "dial in" the effort level I felt like I could sustain in high heat without developing system issues. I had tried respiration rate at BH and failed, so I fell back to HR.
I previously felt 152-156 was likely sustainable, looking back at race data, that was too much, after about a month, it seemed 142-148 was the mark (I max out at close to 200 & resting is 60-64) I talked about to others and made half-assed commitments to myself to ramp up and cross train for core strength and do yoga for flexibility. I did a couple of runner specific yoga workouts and sporadic pushups, but nothing that really moved the needle on either count. I did keep up the rehab stretches for my right achilles and that helped keep me 98% healthy to the start.

About a month out from the race, I committed to the race plan of a conservative start, hiking all the climbs and then seeing what was left in the tank for the 2nd half of the race, on a Dallas Dirt Runner training run, I shared this with Ginny Gwyn, who would be another first timer there, and she liked the plan, herself coming back from an injury and  also being a bit "undertrained". So we were set to toe the line, take it easy and see what the afternoon would give us.

I hard tapered after my final trail run with DDR & DRC newbies at The Oak Cliff Nature Trails Sunday, I hard tapered the rest of the week, no stairs, no runs, just long hours of work. My goal was to maximize sleep, but I fell a little short, as usual, but I did get more than normal, which had to be helpful. I packed just enough to get the job done in a backpack & a small duffle bag and Cathey & I were off Friday morning flying to El Paso - went to the race meeting Friday afternoon where I saw Ginny, got briefed and saw a prerelease of an Ultra movie.

I grabbed a veggie rice bowl from Jack in the Box, prepped my UD vest and laid out my gear and a single drop bag to go to the mile 20+ (East Aid) station, hit the Nettie pot and took all the cold meds Cathey gave me and hit the sack.
Review of my sleep app shows 2 hour cycles deep to awake - I decided to get up a little before 4AM- race start was 6A and it was a 20 min drive- so I thought I'd have plenty of time to relax and get ready. I ate a Snickers bar - it might not be Veggan, but convenience & availability were what counted now, a banana and we stopped and got some OJ at a C-store near what I thought was the start.

We pull up on the road and the gate is locked. We circled back and in line and waited for it to be opened, drove to where I thought the start line was, only to see nothing. We went back to the C-store, I asked the clerk if he knew anything about the park- no clue. Cathey tried to talk me out of running the race because it just wasn't meant to be. I got online and found the start was 26 minutes away- ETA 6:08AM - forget the drop bag- they had to be there by 5:30. I didn't care,I just knew I was running the damn race. Cathey was driving and did her best to help calm me down, I thought I was fairly composed, but didn't feel super calm. She dropped me off 50 yards below the start line, I geared up and took off. 

230 runners signed up to run, I was 197^th or close to it to start the race. I crossed the start line 10 minutes after the clock started. The first climb brought 40-50 mph winds which I wasn't prepared for. I had a headlamp over a running hat, trekking poles and my normal gear, UD pack-2 UD 20 oz bottles & a 24 oz insulated bottle. My sunglasses were hooked over my front ties & my cold meds were in an outer pocket of my never worn before Northface Better than naked, Ultra shorts. I had tailwind, Kind and Larabars in my cycle shirt and pack. I made my way slowly up a hill and over when I realized I was off the trail- there was a stream of lights off in the distance to my right way up a ridge, I turned around and back tracked until I found the trail. The wind was so strong, I had to keep my head down to allow my hat bill to shield my eyes and keep from blowing off. After a few minutes, I made my way up a slight climb, gaining on the headlamps in the distance, but the wind was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. I had adapted to moving in the extreme wind, my trekking poles were a huge benefit, even though I had to hike in a crouch keeping as low to the ground as possible for stability. Feeling stressed even though I was creeping along, I checked my Fenix 2 and was shocked to see 170 HR- that's full blown all out racing redline for me! I decided that adrenaline may have contributed, but no matter, I had to get the HR down, slowing down to a slow creep, I still caught up to the back end of pack and began passing, the smaller women were literally hugging the mountain, down on all fours to maintain stability. I continued on, keeping my HR down around 150-155 still in granny gear. After the first climbs the course was semi protected by the taller mountains and brief reprieve from the winds came for a while. I made my way to the first check point at the finish line after passing a number of runners crossing at 1:59:58 in 121^st place, 

I didn’t know my position at the time, and it didn’t matter, I was executing my race plan, enjoying the absolutely craziest race start I’ve ever had and staring down the first of 3 incredible climbs ahead. The Aztec caves were a short break in the first hard climb, I was still passing runners at a steady rate, most runners had to climb the ledge after the caves on all fours, the trekking poles again proved there worth, as I was able to power hike the steep climb. This next climb, I caught myself slowing repeatedly to hold my HR in check, a number of runners passed me on the climb, most nearly out of breath or laboring hard. I stayed on target, I was looking for Ginny and Elizabeth Rodriguez, another Dallas Running Club trail runner, who I knew were somewhere ahead but I had no way of estimating their position, but there was a 2 mile climb and return to the next aid station, where I hoped I would meet them and get an idea of how far ahead they were. The ledge wasn’t as frightening as I had imagined, I think running the mountain trails in Arkansas, specifically every trail on Mount Nebo and the races at Mount Magazine and the Lovit 100K as well as the OT50 helped prepare me for high, precarious trails, the wind was still a factor at times, but not nearly as bad as the first 6 miles. My practice from races and training runs, passing runners on single track also helped a lot, especially on the narrow technical portions. I forced myself to be louder than normal, communicating with runners, both ahead and those I could hear approaching from behind, it was easy to allow passes on the climbs, I’d just step over, stop and continue, no one was moving that fast.

There was a long descent that took us through some incredibly rocky sections, I have always intentionally made any trail workout as difficult as possible, especially the “Urban” trail runs around Brookhaven College-Vetruvian Park and on the Trinity Levee near downtown, I always questioned the decisions to risk injury running on large rip-rap laid out on hills and under bridges, I thought these man made rock and concrete piles would never be replicated on a trail, but I figured they would build strength and helped in judgement and safety decisions. When I came upon big stretches that were slowing everyone else to a slow walk, I literally yelled with joy, “F’ Yeah!” Not only was it really similar in size of rocks, it was much more stable than I was accustomed to running, so it was a piece of cake for me and a real ankle buster for everyone. I passed some and ran in close proximity for the remaining climb to TH-Aid and then I passed and was frequently passed on the climb to Mundy’s Aid, losing a number of places net, many of those passing were laboring hard on the climbs, I held fast to staying in check, taking the steepest very slow. I was still wondering if I would see Elizabeth or Ginny. Mundy’s Aid is the launch of the 2 mile climb to the summit and then back down, I hoped to see friendly faces or else they were over 4 miles ahead and I wouldn’t likely catch up, as I passed or got passed, I often would ask where they were from and sometimes get a first name. I passed a guy, or he caught up to me, I can’t remember, he’s from Houston, Andrew. Andrew stayed right with me the entire climb to the summit. About 200 meters from the summit I met Ginny! We were both glad to see each other, I snapped a quick selfie and told her I started the race late and I should be seeing her sometime. At the summit, we were given a wrist band to prove we had completed the summit climb, I took some pics and then headed down. That was the last I saw Andrew. I’d used the trekking poles on the climb, I was just carrying a pair of spears on the way down, I still held myself in check on the descent, but I did make good time and I caught up to Ginny at Mundy’s Aid. 

I took a little time at the aid station, refilling all 3 bottles and getting some gels to go and eating potato chips and pickles and a ¼ PBJ. I caught Ginny up on my bonehead rookie mistake, she said “you know Rob said we weren’t starting where we had the pre-race meeting” I tried to explain how my mind got all twisted up trying to place part of the race I there and then went over the race plan as Ginny was kinda pushing the pace and it was getting hotter by the minute. Ginny pulled up, gave me the lead position, and we had Cliff in tow behind her. Cliff as we found out later, grew up in the same little West Texas town as Ginny, he stayed behind us to the East Aid mile 20.4 where I refilled the bottles, mistakenly thinking I’d emptied all 3, but I had a full 20 oz in my pack. I knew I’d need all three for the next leg, it was still getting hotter. I loaded up on watermelon, pickles and some trail mix in hopes of making up for the missed bottle on the last leg.  We left before Cliff and passed and got passed numerous times by 3-5 different guys, I’m not sure why that was happening, but we seemed to take the tougher terrain a little faster. I think that fatigue may have been setting in on the others as well. I felt good and Ginny too, we weren’t working hard, but we could tell when temp/humidity/wind changes came and went, it slowed or allowed us to speed up fairly dramatically. I was keeping my HR steady around 142-146. 

Cliff passed us 2-5 miles after the aid station and went on to finish 23 minutes ahead of us. This leg of the race began the most desolate and ugly looking that we would have until a few miles from the finish. Ginny got lucky that we came to dry creek bed which had adequate bush cover for a pee break. I was glad to get a little rest. Fatigue was starting to set in, but it wasn’t as bad as I usually experience deep in races. The monotony of the view, grind of the race and lack of contact with other runners spurred me to spit out a number of stories from the past, Ginny may have fallen asleep, but at least she didn’t complain…we were full on trudging through “The Suck”. Agustin had been FB posting Ginny’s position by each aid station and she’d been moving up every time amongst females. I hadn’t looked at my phone, except to take pics. Still moving well and thankful for a long slight descent to the unprotected tables that awaited at the final station West Aid 26.4 miles, the earlier winds must have taken the tent tops down. We refilled, got a little fuel and took off. We had passed a number of guys taking long break and Cesar the Park Ranger came into the station just before we left. We saw none of them again until well after we finished. 

The next leg of the race would prove to be the most interesting by far, in retrospect. The first few miles we felt amazing refreshed and re-energized, I heard voices in the distance and wondered where they were, I didn’t see anyone near or far from us on the trail, we were in pretty much open ground with little vegetation, so it was easy to see the trail for about over half a mile fore and aft. We were now strategizing Ginny’s finish since she might have a shot at top 10. We talked about the what if’s, I told Ginny to bust it on out if she felt like it, but I needed to save my legs for the 100 coming up in 3 weeks. We both heard a voice, this time I was certain it was a woman. I looked and stopped to do a 180 scan to see where they were. I didn’t see anyone anywhere. We continued on and thought nothing of it, other than there may be a female tracking Ginny down. I felt like we were finishing strong, I was stopping down for walk breaks at any sign of an upgrade. No one was tracking us down and we were tracking down others, I spotted a pair in the distance and I could tell we were closing. We passed them within a mile. I spotted another pair and it looked like we’d get Ginny another place, one of them was a female! I told Ginny we were definitely gonna catch them, they weren’t moving well and we were still strong, it wasn’t a fast close rate, but like all day, we were steady as the rocks around us. We close in at a trail turn and I realize just like Steven Tyler says…Dude looks like a Lady! We both have a good laugh which came at the right time. 

As we plunder along, still moving well at moderate to slow shuffle, in less than a mile or two, we come upon a guy on the ground and a gal who appears fine. I check him for basic vitals and see if he’s still sweating, which he is. I check his legs and he’s not locked up or cramping. He’s in the only shade we’ve seen in the last 8 miles, so I feel ok leaving him, he has plenty of fluid and his buddy is staying with him, we’ll let them know he’s down. He turned from his side to face down before we left. In hindsight, I should have had him lay on his back, knees elevated. Note to my running buddies- if you crater in race after 8-9 hours, don’t count on me for the best medical aide. Ginny gives the woman her collapsible bottle full of water, and we head on. We both guessed it may have been a case of the boyfriend trying to keep up with the much stronger girlfriend and she just blew him up in the heat. They were only 3-4 mile from the finish, I’m not sure how far the closest vehicle access was, Rob warned us of the consequences of blowing up and lack of easy trail extraction. This guy was definitely going to test the limits.

We meet a few folks who’ve been sent to help the guy and let them know they’re close. His brother was one, I feel better knowing there are enough folks to make sure he gets out ok. We’re both feeling the effects of the wind, climbing and heat, I can tell by her inflection, Ginny is more than ready to be done, she’s trying to mentally shorten the race. If I had been more clear headed, I might have tried some Jedi mind tricks to distract her, but I think I just stated that we probably 3 miles out and I was certain we had at least 2 difficult climbs left. I didn’t see any need to push, since she’d gain a position and there were no others in sight either way, but none the less, I gave Ginny the option of hammering it out, while I mailed it in with steady power hike pace. Ginny picked it up on the final climb, I stayed with her and told her she’d better not let me catch her... I slowed up about 200 yards from the finish, she earned that spot. I had accomplished my goal, a strong finish and well executed race that put some space between me and the BH DNF and brings back the confidence needed to get these idiotic things done.

After I climbed to the finish, I greeted RD Rob with a modified hashtag he’d mentioned in the meeting:

“F’ you very much!” He seemed pleased. I know I was, it was a race I loved to hate. I didn’t hate the rocks or the hard climbs or the cliffs or even the high wind. It was the barren terrain and the relatively flat, and in retrospect, now spooky backside (check out the legend of La Llorona).

230 signed up
197 runners started the race,

by the first check in, I was
in 121st place @ 1:59:58
Mundy's Aid 132 @ 3:00:37
East Aid: 110 @ 6:56:44
West Aid: 98 @ 9:05
Overall Finish: 93rd @ 11:06:57
177 completed

82nd Man
Finished 8th out of 18 -
50-58 year old men

Takeaways:
1) Executing a sound race plan trumps most challenges
2) Training for difficult terrains no matter how stupid it may seem at the time, can prepare you for crazy S that you may encounter on the trail.
3) Trekking poles are game changers in high wind & extreme climbs
4) Staying within your effort limits in extreme conditions- wind, hard climbs, steep descents & exposed heat pays off at the later stages of the race.
5) Trail toes prevents assburn
6) Big screw ups can be overcome if you just keep calm & stay with the plan

Here’s the link to the photos from this adventure: https://fb.me/2aYrLE2bN5ur5CW