The whole crew!
BTG Baby Barkley Recap
The First, Possibly Annual, Event Was A Success!
We had a great turnout for the first-ever BTG Baby Barkley this past Saturday, with eleven people participating. The weather was beautiful, and actually was quite comfortable for most of the duration, only getting really hot in the afternoon hours.
The majority of the participants were in the "below Fun Run" category, choosing to complete less than three loops. Amanda, Anne, Raina and Shelley all completed one loop. Andrea, Kelly and Mike all completed two loops. Great job, all of you!
The Fun Run
Steve paced his three-loop Fun Run effort perfectly, finishing just under the 4 hour, 30 minute cutoff. That was a well-executed, awesome job, and he looked fresh as a daisy when Anita and I saw him on his way in to the finish.
Alyssa was right with him for the first couple loops, but then had a navigation error on her third loop that resulted in her finishing past the cutoff, but it was a VERY impressive effort, regardless!
Coach JP and Anita, who both completed 5 Loops!
The Full Meal Deal
My frequent trail running partner-in-crime, Anita, joined me in tackling the full, five-loop BTG Baby Barkley. Again, we were very evenly matched, so we opted to run the first four loops together.
I carried all the fuel and water I needed to complete the Fun Run right from the start, planning to stop briefly between loops 3 and 4 to resupply and apply some cooling measures if need be. With us hitting the end of our third loop a little before noon it was definitely good timing. A quick dousing with ice water from my cooler and a thorough wipe down with ice-water-soaked towels had me heading up for the fourth loop feeling refreshed.
Throughout the first four loops, I had to keep making a conscious effort to stay disciplined and not go too fast, sticking to the plan of aiming for an average loop time of between 1 hour 10 minutes and 1 hour 15 minutes. We paced it to perfection:
Loop 1 was finished in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 12 seconds
Loop 2 was finished in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 47 seconds
Loop 3 was finished in 1 hour, 10 minutes and 21 seconds
Loop 4, including our resupply and refresh between loops, was finished in 1 hour, 17 minutes and 45 seconds.
With 27.75 km of distance and 1,332 metres of elevation gain completed, we finished our first four loops in 4 hours, 51 minutes and 5 seconds, well ahead of pace to complete five loops under the 6 hour, 45 minute cutoff, and putting a sub-6 hour finish tantalizingly within reach.
As we approached the finish of loop four (counterclockwise), I gave Anita the choice of which direction she preferred to run her final loop, and she chose to run loop five clockwise, leaving me to do a repeat of the counterclockwise direction we had just finished. While I had intended to make a quick stop between loops 4 and 5 to refresh again, I had all the fuel and water I needed already with me, so I made a snap decision to immediately turn around and get started in the hopes that I could gain a slight lead on the final loop and get to the finish line first, and under the 6-hour mark.
Without that refresh and with the afternoon heat rising, that slog up the seemingly never-ending climbs counterclockwise was pretty miserable. The whole time, I was worrying whether I'd have any legs left for the steep, gnarly descents down Mixed Bag, and the long, rolling traverse before the finishing stretch, and wondering whether I was moving fast enough to have a chance of beating Anita to the finish.
I made the strategic decision to finish off my remaining fuel and water while climbing so that I would be carrying as little weight as possible down the hills with me, and to eliminate the distraction / temptation to walk while drinking / fueling in the home stretch.
At almost exactly the halfway mark of the loop (despite me in theory having had a couple of minutes' lead) while I was still climbing and at least a half kilometre from the lookout, I saw Anita running downhill towards me, looking pretty fresh and strong. Even though I knew she still had the notorious climb up to the Washing Machine to complete, she had a LOT of fast, runnable descending ahead as well, so I was convinced at that point that she was going to beat me to the finish, because I felt SO TIRED.
Never one to leave anything in the tank, I decided to stop looking at the time and pace on my watch and just give it everything I had and let the chips fall where they may.
Draining the last of my fuel and water as I climbed up the short chute out of the lookout, I willed my legs to start running, and they reluctantly responded.
The whole journey down Mixed Bag, I was screaming at myself in my head to KEEP RUNNING, cursing myself (both in my head and out loud...LOL) when my legs just couldn't, all the while sure that I was falling further and further behind, but steadfastly refusing to look at my watch.
As I approached the junction of Amy Fisher and Total Sanity, where the clockwise and counterclockwise loops converged, I couldn't see Anita either ahead or behind, so I figured she was either ahead and out of reach, or would be closing quickly behind and it would likely catch and pass me on the final switchbacks down to the finish.
I actually consciously rehearsed being gracious in defeat when I saw her waiting for me at the gate, rather than bitterly disappointed...LOL. Ridiculous, I know, but I can't help that deep-down competitive streak.
I snuck a peek at my watch as I crossed the access road into the final set of switchbacks on Total Sanity, and in my fatigue-blurred vision (and heat-fogged brain math) it looked like I still had a chance to be sub-6 hours, but it would be close.
My legs felt like they had nothing left, so I just "took the brakes off" and let gravity carry me to the finish, doing all I could to keep my feet under me and my face from hitting the dirt. The family that was starting out on their hike up the access road as I rounded the corner for the gate must have thought I was insane, careening wildly down the hill only slightly in control and incapable of coherent speech.
I touched the gate and stopped my watch, and it took everything I had to not collapse into a heap. I staggered into a shady spot on shaky legs and managed to clear my vision enough to read my final time - 5 hours, 57 minutes, 48 seconds. How I managed to pull off a 1 hour, 6 minute and 43 second final loop (and set my PR for Mixed Bag from the top to the bottom in the process) is beyond me. It just felt SO SLOW the whole way down!
Still half-expecting Anita to be at her vehicle, cooling down, I didn't know whether to stay where I was or seek the ice cold relief of my cooler full of ice water and soaking towels, but just in case I decided to stay put.
To my immense surprise, a few minutes later, I saw Anita coming down the trail, and she touched the gate to finish in 6 hours, 1 minute, 11 seconds.
After 34.62 km total distance and 1,663 metres of total elevation gain, It was the most perfectly-executed "race" I've ever pulled off in terms of pacing, fueling...everything, and WE BOTH ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT!
That effort really feels like a good bit of redemption after my failure to achieve my goal of completing the Run For Water Trail 50K a little over a month earlier (where I opted to drop down to the 25K instead), and gives me a *bit* more confidence as I continue my journey towards my Spartan Race Ultra (50K and 60+ obstacles) on my 50th birthday in August.
Doing It Again Next Year?
It was a really fun event to be part of, so I definitely want to do it again, maybe making it an annual thing.
In the spirit of the real Barkley Marathons (where things just seem to get harder each year), and given Anita, Steve and my performances in successfully completing our goals, I think a slight tweak in the cutoff times may be in order. Maybe dropping it to 6 hours, 30 minutes for the full, and 4 hours, 20 minutes for the Fun Run? We'll have to see.
This all, of course, presumes that the trails at Ledgeview (AKA McKee Peak) are still around and accessible next year, but that's not something within our control.
Anyway - lots of fun, definitely want to do it again!