Photo from Christopher Graphics
Although it is only 18 miles, the elevation gain makes it feel a lot more like a marathon in terms of both effort and expected finishing time. The course gains 5000 feet and descends 2000 for a net elevation gain of about 3000 feet.
We woke up race morning to snow out the window of our hotel room in Asheville. Arriving at the Arboretum, nobody knew if we would get the full 18 mile course or if the race would have to be cut 2 miles short due to weather conditions / road access to the Mt Pisgah parking area. As we lined up to start, they announced the plan - the full course (cheering), but this was subject to change depending on weather conditions (boos).
Lining Up to Start
Shut-In does stained glass awards based on top 20 men and top 10 women (no age groups) and I wanted to get my own piece of stained glass. So, when the race started I tried to hang with the lead group. We came through the first mile in about 6min (mostly downhill), mile 2 around 13min (flattening out) and then things got slower and more interesting as we got into the single track and began climbing.
Lesson learned from this race is that I need to work on my downhill running. I was able to keep up on the flats, made time on the uphills, but lost time on technical descents. This makes sense, since it is hard to train for technical downhill running in Wilmington, NC. I would like to thank the inventor of the incline button on the treadmill for what little hill running ability I currently possess.
I spent most of the day between 9th and 12th and felt really good. The weather shifted between sun and snow and the course was beautiful. There were still some leaves on the trees and the ground had a light dusting of snow.
The final 2 miles of Shut-In are pretty steep uphill and a section of course I had not seen before the race. I ran this trail earlier in the year, but turned back before this section when I realized I was running low on water. So, I dropped back to 11th place around mile 14 figuring I would catch those ahead during the final climb. I moved into 10th place just before the trail crosses 151 and began the final stretch.
This really wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I was counting on something similar to the Vicker's Ranch section of the San Juan Solstice 50 (my report), i.e. straight up. The final climb of Shut-In is certainly steep, but it seemed that just when I was starting to hurt it would flatten for a few feet and give me a break. Then, just when I was psyching myself up for the last 3/4 mile of uphill - I was at the top and it was downhill to the finish.
The one complaint was the lack of anything hot at the finish. The finish is in a saddle in the mountains, which the wind whipped through making it much colder than the 32 degree air. With that, I could have really used some coffee, hot chocolate, cider, anything warm!
However, on the plus side was being able to see my friend Jamie Gaspari and meet his wife and daughter. He got to run double that day, as he got to spend the afternoon after the race chasing his 18 month old daughter around...
Me and Jamie
Another plus was the post race massage and NutterButters! Any race with NutterButter cookies at the finish has to be a quality event!
The NutterButter Award for Finishing!
Finished in 10th place and I now have a piece of stained glass!
NICE!
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