I made the two-hour trek to Winston Salem on Saturday morning, getting up at 4:30 am to temps around 10 degrees. That is cold for NC and all week I knew it would be bone chilling for the race. I just received my new Roclite 295’s last week and broke them in just in time for this race. They felt great as expected, making them my shoe of choice for this race.
The Salem Lake Frosty 50k is a flat course, making it conducive to fast times. It consists of two out and backs, passing through the start finish line at the halfway point. There are about 6 miles of pavement and 25 miles of rolling dirt/gravel surface as it meanders in and out of coves around the lake. Starting temp was 14 degrees with calm winds. The last time I ran this race, in 2007, it was much warmer, enough to make me puke at the finish line, a first for me. So this time I wore full-length tights (another first for me in a race), a 2XU long sleeve and jacket, gloves and stocking cap. It was more than I wanted to wear but turned out to be the perfect choice.
I looked around at the start line, not recognizing anyone I knew to be fast but except for one young guy that looked the part. As it turned out he was the real deal this day. We took off and the two of us hung together for a few miles out front. I noticed, however, that whenever I let up he would begin to gap me and soon I knew he was going to be more than I could handle. I needed to let him do his thing as we were keeping a faster pace than I knew I could hold for 31 miles. I had gone out too hard and for some reason I just kept plugging away at 6:15 pace when I knew 6:30 pace was what I needed to for a PR. Prior to the start I had had a discussion with a friend about how male ultra runners seem to always go out too fast and that females are smarter about pacing. Maybe I should have listened better to that conversation. I made it to the halfway point 2 minutes faster than in 2007 and was already down 5 minutes to Boy Wonder.
At that point the wind had started to pick up and this was pretty frustrating as I was losing ground quickly and ended up chugging along alone. I had backed off from my prior pace, as I did not want the finish to become a death march. I made the turn for the final 8 miles back to the finish and was a good 12 minutes down now, ugh, but my goal of getting a 50k PR was still reachable. The last few miles I quit looking at splits, as I knew I was slowing down each mile. The wind felt like it was 20mph into my face. It was in fact closer to 10mph but at this stage in an ultra everything becomes magnified. My feet were about the only things that did not hurt at this point. The shoes were simply awesome and I never thought once about my feet, which is a good thing. Instead, I focused on the lactic acid creeping up my legs to my spine. I managed a second place finish in 3:24:21 (a nice 4+ minute 50k PR). As I took off my tear tag, I learned that my super human competitor had ran a course record 3:08. My 3:24 seemed pretty puny after hearing that but a PR is a PR. I’m very happy with my race especially after all the Christmas cookies I consumed recently along with a few holiday ales. When the RD asked if was going to puke again at the finish, I realized that my previous visit to the Frosty Fifty had been a memorable experience for him as well.
The new Roclite 295 is just as good if not better than the older model. There is a minor change in the upper, as the fabric features a tighter weave, making the shoe feel a touch narrower. However, it is still roomy and it still has that great sticky rubber on the outsole. The look is what really sets this shoe apart as the new black color with the Inov-8 logo really gives it a nice pop. I had several folks comment and ask about the shoe. The thing I like most about the Roclite models is the versatility of the outsole. It provides great traction on most every type of trail but still performs well on the roads. It feels so comfy on all surfaces and I’m sure it will be my go-to shoe for most of my ultra races once again. The women’s version is the Roclite 268.
Report/review by: Mark Lundblad
The Salem Lake Frosty 50k is a flat course, making it conducive to fast times. It consists of two out and backs, passing through the start finish line at the halfway point. There are about 6 miles of pavement and 25 miles of rolling dirt/gravel surface as it meanders in and out of coves around the lake. Starting temp was 14 degrees with calm winds. The last time I ran this race, in 2007, it was much warmer, enough to make me puke at the finish line, a first for me. So this time I wore full-length tights (another first for me in a race), a 2XU long sleeve and jacket, gloves and stocking cap. It was more than I wanted to wear but turned out to be the perfect choice.
I looked around at the start line, not recognizing anyone I knew to be fast but except for one young guy that looked the part. As it turned out he was the real deal this day. We took off and the two of us hung together for a few miles out front. I noticed, however, that whenever I let up he would begin to gap me and soon I knew he was going to be more than I could handle. I needed to let him do his thing as we were keeping a faster pace than I knew I could hold for 31 miles. I had gone out too hard and for some reason I just kept plugging away at 6:15 pace when I knew 6:30 pace was what I needed to for a PR. Prior to the start I had had a discussion with a friend about how male ultra runners seem to always go out too fast and that females are smarter about pacing. Maybe I should have listened better to that conversation. I made it to the halfway point 2 minutes faster than in 2007 and was already down 5 minutes to Boy Wonder.
At that point the wind had started to pick up and this was pretty frustrating as I was losing ground quickly and ended up chugging along alone. I had backed off from my prior pace, as I did not want the finish to become a death march. I made the turn for the final 8 miles back to the finish and was a good 12 minutes down now, ugh, but my goal of getting a 50k PR was still reachable. The last few miles I quit looking at splits, as I knew I was slowing down each mile. The wind felt like it was 20mph into my face. It was in fact closer to 10mph but at this stage in an ultra everything becomes magnified. My feet were about the only things that did not hurt at this point. The shoes were simply awesome and I never thought once about my feet, which is a good thing. Instead, I focused on the lactic acid creeping up my legs to my spine. I managed a second place finish in 3:24:21 (a nice 4+ minute 50k PR). As I took off my tear tag, I learned that my super human competitor had ran a course record 3:08. My 3:24 seemed pretty puny after hearing that but a PR is a PR. I’m very happy with my race especially after all the Christmas cookies I consumed recently along with a few holiday ales. When the RD asked if was going to puke again at the finish, I realized that my previous visit to the Frosty Fifty had been a memorable experience for him as well.
The new Roclite 295 is just as good if not better than the older model. There is a minor change in the upper, as the fabric features a tighter weave, making the shoe feel a touch narrower. However, it is still roomy and it still has that great sticky rubber on the outsole. The look is what really sets this shoe apart as the new black color with the Inov-8 logo really gives it a nice pop. I had several folks comment and ask about the shoe. The thing I like most about the Roclite models is the versatility of the outsole. It provides great traction on most every type of trail but still performs well on the roads. It feels so comfy on all surfaces and I’m sure it will be my go-to shoe for most of my ultra races once again. The women’s version is the Roclite 268.
Report/review by: Mark Lundblad
4 comments:
Congrats on the PR! 3:24 is a smokin' time, no matter what your place. Well done.
I'm eager to get my paws on some of those 295's. Not only are they fast (per your recommendation), but they look fantastic!
Way to kick off the season for Team Inov-8!!!
SD
Great race Mark!!!!! it's great to start off with a pr...
Mark, You looked great out there under pretty cold conditions. A heck of a way to start off 2010. Congratulations on your PR!
Rick,
You looked pretty strong yourself out there, sorry I did not stick around after I finished, I had to get home to thaw out.
Cheers,
ML
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