Well, by now I've managed to familiarize myself with the entire Tussey course. I ran most of it over the course of two different weekend trips...and what I didn't run, I drove. So here's the story of my solo Tussey training adventures and a look at what the course is like.
18 Miles of Tussey Training
For my first trip in late August, I drove up early on a Saturday morning and parked at the Tussey Ski Resort. The start line is between a couple of telephone poles near the resort. But which poles? I asked some other runners and they pointed out the right poles for me and I was off and running.
The first 3.2 miles of the course are uphill. We run on gravel road switchbacks and it's nice and shady. A long hill, but very pretty! I'm going to run/walk up this hill so I can save my legs for later.
Once you reach the top of the hill, it's all downhill for the next 4 miles, then flat for another 3 or so. Woohooo!
The entire course is nice and shady....but...well, there's not much to look at; just trees and more trees. The course takes us through Rothrock State Forest, hence the trees. But every now and then you'll see one of these:
Lot's of random camps and "rod and gun clubs." Yeah, it was real comforting knowing that I wasn't all alone out here, after all. No, there were people with guns milling about! But, no worries, I was armed with a camping whistle I had bought from Wal Mart on the drive up! (Apparently you can buy ammo at Wal Mart but not pepper spray. Go figure. LOL)
Whipple Dam State Park is 11 miles in---it's a sumptuous oasis in the middle of the forest! After seeing nothing but trees and gun clubs for miles, this was a nice sight. I stopped to use the "facilities" and check out the beach. On this August weekend the place was packed with people swimming, playing volleyball, canoeing, picnicking and just hanging out. It's going to be pretty this weekend with the fall leaves!
This next leg is a difficult 6.2 miles of rolling hills with a long, steep, one mile hill up Beidleheimer Rd. This road is a biotch! I'm going to have to get into STIK mode for this stretch so I can keep up the pace and make the first cutoff!
I wrapped up this first Tussey training trip having run 18 miles or so. I had focused on a couple of the sections of the course labeled "difficult" and came away thinking...yeah, they're difficult but not as ridiculous as I thought they'd be. It helps that there aren't any technical trails---just the fire roads.
The Tussey 27
Fast forward a month...and my second Tussey training trip was Savageman weekend. After doing the bike relay with "Team Keep The Finish Line Up" on Saturday (we kicked butt and yes, the finish line was up), I was Tussey bound again!
I woke up way early the next morning in time to catch the sun coming up over Tussey. Beautiful! This picture was taken from the back deck of the B&B.
Here the sky is a little deeper red:
I parked at Penn Roosevelt State Park. It's this dreamy place tucked away in the woods--- like something out of a storybook. It also serves as the first cutoff during the race at 25 miles. As I set off on my run I glanced back at my lonely car. The next time I see it, I'll be done with this run. Oh happy thought. 27 miles in the bank!
This stretch of the race is called "Miles From Nowhere," and that's exactly what it felt like: I was miles from nowhere and no one! The scenery was the same: lots of tall trees providing plenty of shade with a random gun club here and there: Lakemont Rod & Gun Club, Poco Gun Club, Lost Creek Camp, Wrightsdale Gun Club.
It took me a few miles to get in the groove, but eventually I made it to Colyer Lake. This is another scenic spot along the way and the location of the second cutoff at 36 miles.
The next 5.3 mile leg is called "Are We There Yet?" And that's how it felt running it: when will I ever get to the end of this leg? If I make it this far during the race, this will be the toughest section of the course. It's got rolling hills with "more serious" ups and downs. In fact, this is the section of the course where we are allotted the most time to make the next cutoff---a 16:59/mile minimum pace---because it's so difficult.
I had stashed a bottle of water in some bushes on this stretch before I started running so I could stop and refill my hydration pack. Just when I was thinking I would see no signs of civilization along this middle-of-nowhere road, I came across this huge gated house! Their driveway has it's own street sign. It says "Rancho Relaxo."
(Just keeping it real, I doubt I'll be averaging a 17 minute/mile pace on this stretch. It's already a difficult section and I'll be tired on top of that. It will be farther than I've ever run, so I'll be in some new pain territory. But I'll give it my all!)
Reaching the end of this leg gave me a huge mental boost and before I knew it, I had reached the turn at Treaster Kettle and Bear Meadows Road and was cruising along again!
During the actual race we will run up Bear Meadows, do a turn around and head down to the finish line at the resort. Woohoo! But for the purposes of this training run...I kept going to Alan Seeger Picnic Area...and then on to my car at Penn Roosevelt.
The last leg of my 27 mile training run is called "Made In The Shade." It heads out of the Alan Seeger Picnic Area and ends at Penn Roosevelt. During the race, this will be miles 20 - 25, ending with the first cutoff at Penn Roosevelt.
I was hurting during this last 5 miles. My legs were dead. My energy was zapped. I was walking more than running. Seemed like I would never get there! I'm hoping it was the result of biking 24 miles at Sav'man the day before....or perhaps I was feeling this bad because my previous long run had been only 18 miles. I reminded myself that I usually feel this bad at the end of a marathon anyway---you know, the whole hitting the wall thing. But during Tussey that wall will have to be much farther away!
50K goal- cha-ching!
Tussey, here I come!
That B&B sounds great with all the yummy food they baked you! Better than your frozen biscuits! ;)
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