Day One : Raccoon Mountain : 18 Miles
Friday morning we woke up to very foggy conditions after a couple days of rain in the Chattanooga area...perfect conditions for running, overcast and 65ish degrees. The course on day one circumnavigates the TVA reservoir on top of Raccoon Mountain. The course was relatively flat for being in the mountains of East Tennessee so made for a good 'warm up' day for the rest of the weekend. After the start, I settled into a comfortable pace somewhere in the middle of the pack. I didn't want to push too hard knowing that I had two more days and many more miles to run. After running comfortably for about the first half of the race, I decided to push the pace a little bit for the second half. There were a few short climbs where I began to pass a handful of people and before I knew it I had made it to the finish line in relative comfort. The entire course was very runnable and there weren't any sections that I had to walk. I kept on top of my hydration and nutrition and made it to the finish line without any discomfortable in the relatively humid conditions.
Goal Time: 2 hours 30 minutes. Actual Time: 2:33:55
After the race, we went home and got cleaned up before Mom, Dad and Kim arrived in town from Johnson City. We went and grabbed some lunch before heading back to Andy's apartment to relax for the rest of the afternoon. Thanks a bunch to Kim for coming to Chattanooga for the afternoon to hang out with us. Sara and I are always thankful to be able to spend time with family, no matter how short that time might be. Abe and Rachel got in town from Atlanta just in time for a delicious home cooked dinner prepared by Andy and mom. The Jacobson clan headed back to their campground after dinner we were asleep shortly thereafter to prepare for day 2.
Day Two : Lookout Mountain : 22 Miles
Day 2 provided nearly ideal conditions again. Warmer than Friday but still cool for June. Saturday's race was in the Lookout Mountain/Lula Lake Land Trust area of North Georgia...another beautiful course with incredible scenery including four more miles than Friday and significantly more climbing. I started conservatively again and fell into a good rhythm somewhere in the middle of the pack. The course was laid out so that it looped back through the start/finish line twice so it was a great boost to get to see all my support crew a couple times mid race. Surprisingly my legs felt no ill affects after day one and I was able to run the entire second half of the race at a relatively quick pace (for me). After going through the final aid station, the last six miles flew by and I crossed the final river crossing and then the finish line in 3 hours 6 minutes, 10 minutes faster than my goal time. After running 18 miles the day before, I ran my fastest (8'27" min/mile pace) race of my life. I felt really good. My confidence was very high for day three. The long soak in the cold river and celebratory beers felt great after completing 40 miles.
Goal Time: 3 hours 15 minutes. Actual Time: 3:06:53 Total Elapsed: 5:39:49
For post race re-fueling (and celebration), we met Ahop and Carrie, who came in town from Nashville, at Champy's Chicken for fried chicken and beers. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around and napping at Andy's. After naps we made another delicious home cooked dinner on the grill before calling it an early night to get some rest.
Day Three : Signal Mountain : 20 Miles
Surprisingly, Andy and I both woke up Sunday morning with relatively little soreness...must have been all the food and carb loading (beer) we had been doing all weekend. The course for day three was partially familiar to both of us. It shared some of the trails that we had run on during the StumpJump 50k last October. This was both good and bad. We were familiar with the trails but knew that there were some serious climbs coming. After the start, I once again fell into a comfortable pace somewhere towards the middle-front of the pack. The steepest of the climbs were in the first five miles of the course. It was nice to get those out of the way at the beginning. Surprisingly, I started passing many people on the climb back up out of Suck Creek. This gave me a lot of energy for the rest of the race knowing that I still had some gas left in the tank after the first two days. Overall, the course was much more technical than the first two days. Roughly thirty percent of the race was un-runnable because of rocks, creek crossings, etc. This was frustrating at times but looking back on it a lot of fun. It made for some much slower times than the first two days but a lot more interesting race. Lots of concentration was required in an effort not to end up on the ground. The second half of the race once again flew by and before I knew it I crossed the finish line for a third time finishing sixty miles over the three days.
Goal Time: 3 hours 45 minutes. Actual Time: 3:37:31. Total Race Time: 9:18:19. 37th place out of 200 people.
This was easily my most enjoyable race experience so far. I felt great for almost the entire sixty miles. I ran within my current abilities and finished twelve minutes ahead of my overall goal time. For the first time I really nailed my hydration and nutrition and had very little discomfort while running. The race(s) definitely gives me confidence as I continue to move forward into longer distances and trying to get faster and improve.
I can't express enough how thankful I am for everyone coming to town to support Andy and I. Thanks to Sara for being willing to drive 11 hours (22 total) with me to Chattanooga to be my number one supporter. Thanks to all my family and friends who came in town to support us. It really means the world to me. I love running and all the support that I get from family is incredible. Thanks to Andy for the hospitality and for letting the Jacobson crew invade his space for a couple days.
Rock/Creek does an amazing job putting on trail races. I will recommend them to anyone. I love running on the trails around Chattanooga and will be back for more.
RESULTS
RACE PHOTOS
