2007 Hogpen Hill Climb: 10.5 Miles of Uphill Running Love

07:32:16 AM: Yesterday Bob sent me a flyer to the Hogpen Hill Climb in Helen, GA. So today I was up early and now the car is loaded for the ride up there. This is another good opportunity for some base mileage... too much winter weight to really race this one. It's 17k/10.5mi. It'll be cold and we have to secure our own rides back to Helen. Should be fun.

09:09:00 AM: Oops. Made it up to historic downtown Helen a little early. Race registration begins at 10am. I saw a truck from a race management company turning towards Helen a while ago but there's not yet anything at the Fest Halle. It's a few degrees cooler up here... 30 degrees despite some sun for a couple hours.

05:01:34 PM: I was sitting in a parking lot when I posted that last update. Minutes later I look over to see an early-arriving Bob & Sue. They were kind enough to invite me into their car for a review of the course. What we saw surprised us. Instead of four flat miles to the start of Hogpen we saw some pretty hairy hills. Then I learned that Hogpen was a six plus mile climb, not the three miles I was expecting (although the really steep stuff is about three miles long).

We got registered and met up with Scott who won the master's group last year and took second overall. Good company. He's run the race 20 times. We loaded up the cars and drove to the top of Hogpen to park. We rode back down in Bob & Sue's car.

About that time I realized I had no gels with me and the course wasn't stocked. Doh. Bob & Sue to the rescue. Sue gets full blog credit (and a gold star) for giving me a gel and a powerbar. Bob jumped in with a gel as well. Without them I would have esssploded! Thanks guys!

I also gobbled two donuts before the race. It was cold out and we all struggled to figure out what to wear. Sue dumped some tights just before the start. I ditched a jacket and hat. In the end we all ended up dressed appropriately.

The start was quick, but I didn't stay with the lead pack... or anywhere near it. My legs were still feeling Thursday's run. My stride was stiff and people were really moving. I hung back for the first third.

In the middle portion of the race, as Hogpen started, I saw the groups thin out and I hung with an upwardly mobile group. My legs were still hurting and I didn't see any particular reason to make my lungs hurt too. So I stayed in a comfortable breathing zone. One advantage of this is that I could tell all the people on the course "Thanks, I appreciate your help" which I usually try to do but it often comes out a wheezing "thx, prec it." I got a lot of smiles and a cowbell or two.

By the final third my legs had loosened up and I found that the group I was with started to break up. Without increasing output I was moving up, passing people. Then I saw some folks who were burning the first few miles up. It was suddenly fun and worth investing in some pain. The last three miles hurt a lot. Actually, everything above 6.5 miles in the race hurt. That little lull after Jack's Creek is gone and it's all uphill.

There is one little downhill section... a false top. I used that to surge a bit and drop a few people who were hanging on. Then only about 3/4 of a mile of struggle to the end. It hurt a lot and was definitely not a base workout. But it was fun.

I finished in 1hr29min and felt good about it. No idea how this compared to the group. Seems like 30 or 40 people milling about by that time. About 350 in the race.

Quickly got some warm clothes on and before I knew it Bob & Sue were at the finish line. We headed back to the cars and drove down the mountain. Scott and Bob have a beer tradition. They had some Budweiser cans and enjoyed them. I had to hit the road a little earlier than they did some abstained... but darn if those beers didn't look wonderful!

Good run. Tough workout. Thanks to Bob for inviting me and to both Bob & Sue for the much-needed gels!

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