shut-in

I had quite a time in Asheville yesterday. I left Durham first thing in the morning and made my way to the North Carolina Arboretum, the starting line of the Shut-In Ridge Run. The run travels on 18 miles of single-track trails from the arboretum up to the trailhead for the Mt. Pisgah summit. For the most part, the course runs parallel to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Shut-In is considered one of the "must-do" races in the Southeast, and it attracts many incredibly fast, elite-level runners. With 5000 feet of climb, and 2000 feet of descent, it's not easy. And the veteran runners that told me the final two miles are "horrible" were on the mark. The vast majority of the race was runnable, albeit slowly, and the terrain was great-- not especially rocky or rooty. There were plenty of beautiful views and many of the trees were showing their fall colors.

My friend Joel told me that if I finished within 15 minutes of my standard marathon time, I had done well. I haven't run a marathon in a long time, but I'd guess I'm good for a 3:25. Sure enough, I finished Shut-In in 3:38.

Some views from the finish:

My 3:38 finishing time was solid, but I didn't feel my perkiest along the way. For those looking for excuses, I'll oblige: (1) I registered for this race as an afterthought following September's GEER 100K, so I wasn't well focused for the challenging course (2) I've been training sporadically, at best, since GEER (3) Because of my sporadic training, I've put on five pounds. Five pounds is a lot when you're going up mountains (4) It wasn't a hot day, but I think I suffered from some electrolyte depletion. My quadriceps were twitching in the latter miles but, fortunately, never progressed to full-fledged cramps.

When I reached the finishing line, I learned that the winner, Shiloh Mielke, had crossed the tape in 2:17, a minute slower than the record he set in 2007. I was floored. I could not believe that someone could cross that terrain in such a short time. I did a little research when I returned home, and my findings made me feel a little better. VO₂ Max is an index of physical fitness and a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen that the body can utilize during exercise. I've never had my own VO₂ Max tested, but the average young male's is 45 ml/min/kg, while a well-trained club athlete's is typically around 70. Lance Armstrong's is a ridiculous 85. Shiloh, a member of the US World Mountain Running Team (who knew there was such a thing), has a 91.8. Only a few humans have readings that high. That's not fair. I'm putting this race under protest.

After the race, I caught up with a friend from high school. Austin and his wife, Abby, along with their four-year-old son, Gus, and their two-year-old daughter, Norah, live about ten minutes from the Arboretum. It was great spending time with them and getting a glimpse of their lives in Asheville. They have a beautiful house, and Adrienne would have been green with envy because in their backyard lies a community garden, bees, and chickens; in case you didn't know, having a vegetable garden, an apiary, and laying hens, is the trifecta for Adrienne.

Their kids are adorable. Norah has quite an opinion about her wardrobe. She was wearing pink pants under a pair of pajama shorts and a snazzy pair of pink cowboy boots. While we sat on the deck, Gus pedaled a toy Jeep around with Norah standing and waving on the back; as Abby pointed out, Norah looked like the queen in a homecoming parade.

Before I knew it, it was time to hit the road back to Durham. Asheville, as it always does, treated me well.

As I drove home, I heard "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" on the radio. Is Christmas music really necessary on November 1st?