El Scorcho: My Mid-Summer Classic

Mid-July means that it is time for the Mid-Summer Classic.  For many of you this brings to mind the MLB All Star Game, that comes to my mind too, but it also brings El Scorcho - my own Mid-Summer Classic.  El Scorcho offers 50K and 25K options and is run at midnight each July at Trinity Park in Fort Worth.  The race is broken down into 5K loops - 5 for the 25K and 10 for the 50K.  This year marked the ninth running, a race that started when a local runner wanted to run 30 miles to mark his 30th birthday.  Registration traditionally opens the day after Cowtown in late February and it typically sells out in a few days.  This race has a quirky, cult like following - part of the added charm!  Not to mention that it benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society - a very worthy cause.

This was my fifth time to run El Scorcho and I decided to add to the challenge of the event by starting the day off with open water swimming.  The race's midnight start time is a little easier to handle with an afternoon nap and what makes one more sleepy than a good swim?  I am not sure how I developed a lifestyle that involves waking up before the sun to swim in a lake and then running 25K at midnight...but I wouldn't trade a bit of it. 

Starting the day with open water swim (Pic: Tri-Now Endurance)

We arrived at the park sometime after 10:00 and set up camp in our usual spot.  Another key to El Scorcho success is arriving "early" in order to let your eyes adjust to the dark.  It also helps to be out of the air conditioning for a little bit so that it is not such a shock to the system.  Earlier, while Mr K and I were at dinner, the news reporters kept talking about how hot it was out there.  I tried to tune it out and remembered the first year I ran El Scorcho.  It was one of the hottest summers on record and the temperatures were still around 95 when we started at midnight.  I ran a little bit scared that night, taking special care to stay on top of hydration and electrolytes.  The 50K race started at 11:00 this year, a change from past years as I think that they are still trying to find a way to efficiently manage that distance. We didn't know anyone running the 50K this year, but we gave them a big cheer as they started their loops.  How anyone runs 10 loops in that park I'll never know.

Pre-race with Bal (Pic: Bal and Michelle)

In the past, I have come into this race in various states of training.  My first year it was my longest race ever, the next two years El Scorcho fell in the middle of marathon training and I even ran an "extra credit" loop to end my night with 18 miles (nuts, I know), last year I was trained for the distance but had little speedwork under my belt at that point, and this year I am in the middle of training for a half Ironman.  Much like last year, I felt confident in the distance but have been running by heart rate based training which is slower than my usual pace.  I usually come into the race with fairly rested legs; however, this time my training is so different and I came in with 56 bike miles on my legs from the day before.  I decided to run the race solely by feel and not constantly check my watch for pace or heart rate.

Lap 1

32:20

Average pace 10:24/mile

5K Rank: 153
I like to think of El Scorcho as five individual loops.  It just works better for my brain that way and feels way more attainable.  I took the beginning mile super easy, noting the changes in surfaces and letting my eyes adjust to the dark.  The race always consists of various surfaces including crushed limestone, grass, asphalt, sidewalk, and even a basketball court.  I hoped that I could maintain a consistent pace over the loops and used this loop to familiarize myself with the aide stations and landmarks along the way.  That is another secret to surviving El Scorcho - learn the lay of the land and use that to your advantage.

Beginning of lap 2 or maybe 3 (Pic: Michelle)

Lap 2 
1:05:13
Average pace 10:30/mile
10K Rank: 143
I came off the first loop feeling strong and didn't need to stop at our home base for any thing.  I simply filled up my handheld at the aide station and set out on the second loop.  The moon was merely a sliver in the sky so parts of the park were dark.  I can't say enough about the volunteers and the spectators at El Scorcho.  They are pretty amazing to give up a night of sleep to come and sit in a hot park and cheer for us.  And have I mentioned the cold and wet paper towels?  Hard to believe that such a small thing could be such a game changer!  I looked forward to grabbing one of those about half way through each loop.  I marveled at the faster runners as they would come flying by me - how could they see well enough to run that fast?  And how do they run that fast in the heat?  Amazing.  Somewhere near the start/finish line I heard a familiar Cajun voice - Byron!  That guy brings the energy, even in the middle of the night.  It is always so much fun to see him!

Special appearance by Byron!

Lap 3 
1:38:56
Average pace 10:37/mile
15K Rank: 126
I made a quick stop at our home base after finishing the second loop for a swig or two of pickle juice and a bit of a breather.  I knew that I was getting a bit slower with each loop, but I was still feeling strong so I was not too concerned about it.  It is somewhere around 1:30 in the morning by this point - one of the most bizarre feelings ever.  I was dialed into my loop routine by now: run out to "Siberia" where the friendly course guides were (the poor guy was all alone in the dark last year - this year he had lights and a fan and people - a nice upgrade for him!), then the cold paper towel people, up a small hill, aide station with the electrolytes, into the dark frog park (the frogs were so loud!), and across the start/finish line.  My friend Stude passed me near the end of this loop - calling out "one more loop!" So speedy, that guy. It is always a boost to see a familiar face in the dark.

Lap 4 
2:12:48
Average pace 10:40/mile
20K Rank: 119
It is a great feeling to realize that I have already run 9.3 miles, but I also knew that the final two loops of the race can be tough mentally.  I still felt great physically, but the loops start to wear on me by this point and I am starting to thing about being done.  I break up my landmarks into even smaller sections and I try to let my mind wander a bit just to pass the time.  It was probably somewhere in this point that I realized that this is some of the best mental training that I can do for the run part of my upcoming half Ironman.  Nothing builds mental toughness like running alone in a park in the dark!  I know that I will feel much like this by the end of my triathlon and I try to soak that in.

Post-race with Stude (Pic: Andy)

Lap 5
2:47:01
Average pace 10:45/mile
25K Rank: 113
Last loop, y'all!  I decided to make a quick porta potty break at the beginning of the last loop, the body can get a little bit confused about running at that hour of the night.  The last loop is tough, but it is also like a victory lap.  I look forward to telling all of the volunteers at the aide stations that this is my last loop and to thanking them for giving up sleep to help all of us weirdos.  One last time through all of my landmarks and one last time to think about how El Scorcho never gets any easier.  I am a true half marathoner at heart, and the miles between 13 and 15 seemed to take forever.  Finally I could see the red glow of the clock at the finish line and I tried to pick it up for a strong finish.  El Scorcho is never easy and I'm grateful to have another finish under my belt.

Time: 2:47:01
Average pace: 10:45/mile
43rd out of 160 female finishers
113 out of 303 finishers
Not my fastest, but far from my slowest - I was very pleased with the effort considering my current training.  As I stood there at the finish line, catching my breath, I was reminded just what a challenge running can be.  Any day night that I can run 15.5 miles is a good day night in my book!  Of course, there are always a few things that I wish I could have done better, but all in all I am pleased.  It was a bit of a shock to look at my watch and realize that it is around 3:00 in the morning.  Mr K and I visited with friends for around a little bit, took a few more pictures, and enjoyed breakfast tacos before we packed up and hit the road.  Last year we discovered another El Scorcho survival tip - if we can get to sleep before the sun comes up then we can keep the sleep cycle somewhat intact and avoid the "El Scorcho Curse" during the following week.  We were like vampires racing the sun back to our hotel!

So there you have it, another El Scorcho in the books.  I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday night smack in the middle of the summer.  This race is so unique and challenging - I hope that I am able to be back again for many years to come!

El Scorcho 25K: The Ocho

Mid-summer brings El Scorcho, one of my favorite races of the year.  El Scorcho offers 50K and 25K options and is run at midnight each July at Trinity Park in Fort Worth. The race is broken down into 5K loops--5 for the 25K and 10 for the 50K.  This year marked the race's eighth running, a race that started when a local runner wanted to run 30 miles to mark his 30th birthday.  It has evolved into a wildly popular event with both distances selling out in a couple of days way back in February.  Not only is El Scorcho super challenging and fun, it benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society--a very worthy cause.   

This was my fourth time to run El Scorcho and I finally felt like I had a handle the unusual race day schedule.  The weather did not do us any favors, as it had in the previous two years, and it was in the upper 80s when midnight rolled around.  Nothing will ever top the first year that I ran the race, it was the hottest summer in thirty years and the temperatures were around 95 degrees at the start.  I have never have never been as cautious about my safety as I was that night.  This year, they offered the 50K runners a chance to start at 10:00 instead of midnight to help them not be so lonely as the 25K runners finished up and left the park.  

Pre-Race with Stude and the Bahas (Photo: Andy W)

We arrived around 10:30 and were able to see Mark L as he came in from his first loop.  Mark started running El Scorcho the same year that Mr K and I did....except this time he went crazy and signed up for the 50K.  In a stroke of brilliance, Mark had a different shirt for each loop and each shirt had the remaining number of loops taped on it in glow-in-the-dark tape.  It was wildly entertaining to see Mark change shirts each time he came back to his family at the start area.  I know having a fresh shirt every 3.1 miles must have felt a little bit like heaven with the amount of sweating we were all doing.  Be sure to read Mark's race recap and check out his shirt plan.

Going into the race, I felt good about my ability to cover the 15.5 miles, but I knew that I would likely not be setting any PRs that night.  I have been covering lots of miles this summer, but I am not in the same place with speedwork as I my marathon training has not begun like it had the last two summers. This also meant that I would not be doing the "bonus" lap after the finish this year to complete my extra miles. While I missed that time with Mama C, I was more than happy to stop at the end of 5 laps this year.

Lap 1

30:29

12:40 AM

Average pace 9:49/mile

I have learned that it is best to think of El Scorcho as 5 individual loops.  The start of any race is hectic and I focused on figuring out the terrain and getting used to the low light.  The course has many different types of surfaces including grass, crushed limestone, sidewalk, pavement, even a basketball court, and this year there were also bumpy ruts in some of the dirt sections.  I noted these ruts as I knew they could be troublesome as I grew more tired.  My goal in any race is to run a consistent pace and I was hoping that I could keep my loop times fairly consistent.  I also used this loop to familiarize myself with the landmarks and aide stations along the way.  I can't say enough about the volunteers and spectators who come out for El Scorcho, I started to look forward to seeing them on each loop.  They bring the park to life with their cheers and encouragement, it would be pretty darned dark and lonely without them.

Lap 2

1:02:20

1:12 AM

Average pace 10:02

I made a last minute decision to make a quick stop at our home base after finishing the first loop.  Mr K and I were set up by Mark's family and it was nice to see their friendly faces.  I filled my handheld and headed out on the second lap.  Between the super moon and the random streetlight I was able to see just fine - now to settle into my "all night" pace and find the rhythm of the loops.  The lead runner blew by me near the second mile of this loop (mile 5 total).  She was moving so fast!!  That's right...SHE....the overall winner was a female!  It was during this time that the gazelles began to pass me and I marveled at their speed - how do they run that fast?  And even more impressive, how do they run that fast in the dark?!  I took a little bit more time at home base as I finished this loop.  It was hot and I wanted to make sure I stayed ahead of the game on hydration.

We take food trucks seriously here in Cowtown

Lap 3

1:34:37

1:45 AM

Average pace 10:09
During the third loop I really started to look for my "landmarks" on the route.  They went a little like this: friendly course guide guy at the turn-around, two ladies on the tailgate of a truck, water station, enchanted forest section, water station with cold towels, woo-ladies, start/finish line.  I think that this is the loop where my friend Stude passed me (or it might have been the fourth - details run together).  We talked briefly as he passed and it was then that I realized I was a little bit lonely running by myself in the dark.  I wanted to keep my loops around 30 minutes, but I seemed to be adding two minutes to each loop.  I feel like this extra time came from my stops at home base.  When I finished this loop, I took a shot of pickle juice and took a few minutes at home base to gather myself.  It made me very happy to realize that I had just run 9.3 miles and still felt good.

Lap 4

2:08:57

2:19 AM

Average pace 10:23
I think that the fourth loop of El Scorcho might be the toughest mentally.  It is past the halfway mark, but there are still 6.2 miles left at this point.  The loops started to wear on me a little at this point and I started to feel like I wanted to be done.  I added more "landmarks" to break up the run, the out-and-back section during the beginning of the loop was my least favorite part.  Things started to look more like this: lighted bridge, friendly course guide guy at the turn-around, lighted bridge part 2, ladies on the truck, dark bridge forest, water station, frog hollow (a small super dark section where I could hear the frogs), enchanted forest, cold towels, woo-ladies, start finish.  I could tell that I was moving more slowly at this point, and forward progress was the name of my game.

Lap 5

2:44:49

2:55 AM

Average pace 10:37
It was hard to leave home base for the last loop, but there is a definitely a big mental boost knowing that it is the last time I would have to have to pass my landmarks.  That first section from the start to the course guide guy was the hardest part of the course for me, out-and-backs and that are probably my least favorite thing ever on a run.  I said farewell to the friendly course guide and he shouted very encouraging words to me as I ran by.  That guy was awesome, I really appreciate that he gave up a night of sleep to come stand all alone at the remote end of the course.  Next up I said farewell to the truck ladies - again, so cool of them to give up sleep to hang out in a park all night.  It sure felt like it was taking my watch forever to chime out the miles.  The red numbers on the clock at the finish line are visible from about a half mile out, so close that I could taste it!  One more spin by the woo-ladies (3 ladies that cheered "woooo" every time a runner passed) and I tried to pick it up for a strong finish.

El Scorcho Ocho Bling

Time: 2:44:49
Average Pace: 10:37/mile
39th of 149 female finishers
114 of 294 finishers
Not my fastest, but far from my slowest and exactly where I should be with my current training.  I consider it a win anytime that I can run 15.5 miles in the middle of the night in the heat of the summer. I do wish that my pacing had been more consistent, but I think that was more about rest stops than the actual running itself.  It is always a bit of a shock to finish running and realize that it is 3:00 in the morning.  The race is like a time warp, you don't really have any concept of it while you are out there - just feels like running in the dark.  Now it was time to cheer on Mark L as he finished up his last couple of loops.  It was hard to believe that he had been running since 10:00 pm!  It was a great sight to see him come in and change into his shirt with the number one on it.  Mr K and I found plenty of friends to visit with while we waited on Mark to cross the finish line.  I love this quirky race with its cult-like following.  It is a tough run, but it is a good event and I hope that I can be back for another one next year.  After celebrating Mark's finish, we packed up our stuff and headed off to catch some shut eye. This was the first time we got to bed before the sunrise and I think that it helped keep my sleep cycle somewhat in tact.  I never felt that El Scorcho hangover like I have in the past years.

Celebrating Mark's 50K finish!

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Marci and Jason for opening their home to us for the second year.  Fort Worth is a long drive for us and it would have felt even longer at 4:00 am.  Marci and Jason were understanding with our odd hours and Jason even made homemade pancakes and bacon for us when we woke up.  They also welcomed our pups kept a watchful eye on them while we were gone.  I hope we can repay the favor someday!

El Scorcho Part I: The Timeline

Anyone who has been following this blog will know that El Scorcho was last Saturday night/Sunday morning in Fort Worth. This was the 5th Edition of the race (El Scorcho Cinco) that includes at 25K (15.5 miles) and 50K (30 miles) starting at midnight in Trinity Park. The race has a cult like following and totally lived up to the hype, at least in my eyes. I have so much to write about that I decided to break this report into two parts. Since so many people have inquired about the logistics and timeline of a race at midnight, I thought that I would share that in Part I. Part II will be the story of the race experience itself and should be posted within a few days. But first let's take a look at the basic schedule of the day's events.

8:30 am I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Le Peep with Erik, my running partner and the other half of Team K. We were a little unsure of how the meals should play out that day, but knew that we needed a good breakfast. I am usually more conservative, but decided to have some pancakes along with a small serving of scrambled eggs and a side of bacon. I figured that I would need calories for the race and these looked good to me! After breakfast we ran a few errands and went home and packed up for our trip west.

1:00 pm We loaded Maggie and Mr. Sir, our pups, and headed to Fort Worth. Since the race is a solid 50 miles from our house, we decided that it would be easier to get a hotel room and have that function as our home base for the evening. It was easier to take the pups with us than find someone to watch them or worry about them being crated for the night. Fortunately La Quinta Inn has a very friendly pet policy (as in FREE) and the dogs love getting out of the house for an adventure.

2:00 pm We arrived in Fort Worth and got settled in our room and there is another tricky food issue....we never had lunch and are feeling very hungry, yet dinner will be around 6:00 that evening. There was a Subway near our hotel and we picked up a quick bite to tide us over. After eating we headed over to Fort Worth Running Company for packet pick-up and to scout out the race location, parking, etc. I was so excited with the race swag--simply a neon green shirt with the race logo on it--very cool!!

3:30 pm We settled in for nap #1. The best thing about having a hotel, aside from being closer to the race, was the black-out shades and the super cold air conditioning. I am a great napper and fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Erik was not as lucky, but enjoyed the cold and dark room. I woke up before my alarm went off and felt great. Time to find some dinner!!

6:00 pm After consulting the handy iphone for a listing of restaurants around us, we happened upon a lovely little place called Joe's Pizza and Pasta. We decided on pizza and even enjoyed a couple of beers as we talked about the upcoming race. The pizza was so good and if Joe's was closer to home I would be dining there more often. Erik decided that Tiramisu would make a great pre-race treat and took an order to go. Joe's was such a nice little surprise that we plan to make it a tradition for future El Scorchos. Check it out if you ever find yourself in that part of town.

7:30 pm We went back to the hotel and settled in for nap number 2. I set our alarm for 9:45 pm--what a crazy wake-up call for a race--and drifted back to dreamland. Again, I slept with very little trouble while Erik was not as successful. I woke up before my alarm sounded but felt fairly rested was ready to get the show on the road. We got our running gear together, loaded the cooler in the car, and headed out for El Scorcho. Periodic check-ins to Twitter told me that our cheering squad was already set up and that many of our other friends were arriving at the park.

10:30 pm We arrived at the designated parking area, carted our cooler and chairs to the park, and quickly found our home base near the start/finish line. It was time for all of the usual pre-race stuff: taking pictures, eating a small meal (bagel thin for me, Tiramisu for Erik), porta potty lines, visiting with friends, and adding flashing lights to my tutu. The atmosphere was great and I often forgot that it was nearly midnight.


Erik with Liza and Ben Pre-Race

12:00 am Ready, set, GO! The 50K runners started right at midnight and then the 25K runners started about 10 minutes after them. I will tell this part of the story in more detail in Part II of this report.


Rocking the tutu pre-race

3:00 am FINISHED! We pulled our chairs together, enjoyed some water and then a cold beer, changed out of some of the sweat soaked clothes, and cheered for the other runners who were still passing us. It was a really odd moment when I looked at my watch and noticed that it was 3:45 am. I can honestly say that I lost all track of time when we were running and hanging out. It just seemed dark to me, but my brain didn't realize just HOW dark it really was.

6:00 am We packed it up and headed back to the hotel. Our journey was finished and it was time to catch a few hours of sleep before making the drive home.

10:15 am Rise and shine (sorta)! Check-out time was at 11:00 so we began stirring and packed up the pups and headed back to the house. That light sure was bright when we opened the door to the hotel room--it was like we had been dwelling in a cave for the last day. We were starving and may or may not have picked up some deliciously bad food on the way home.

12:00 pm Home sweet home! It was great to be home and reunited with my sofa. We took the rest of the day very easy, napped when we were sleepy, ate when we were hungry, and tried to get back to "normal".

Coming up: Part II...the rest of the story.