Yesterday, I completed my 4th Tar Heel Double Down Challenge; the double down challenge included the 4-miler before the main event, a 10-mile race, which is the featured race of the Tar Heel. Completing the challenge, of course, will get you the extra bling and bragging rights. As I came from the Umstead 100 just a couple of weeks ago, this year, as per last year, it was going to be a fun run to complete the challenge. The morning, after the usual early morning breakfast, I drove to the parking event area, which was located around 3/4 miles away. Sugars were ok, a tad on the high side this time, hovering closer to 190s. Runnable but definitely not optimal, I made a small bolus adjustment after I took a energy caffeinated liquid gel, but I did not want to overdo it much as I did not want it to get a low sugar during the event. The weather was better than last year; it was a tad cooler and overcast. Once again, I took advantage of the distance from the parking area to the starting area as a walking/job mile warm-up.

I met with other InsaneRunning group runners for a quick chat. After that, we headed out to the pacing start area and settled down around the 11:30 pace. No plans for PR, but just have some fun. Last year, I tweaked my right knee in this event, and I am still suffering from the consequences of it. The race was delayed about 8 minutes, but they kept saying that the cut-off for the 4-mile challenge was unchanged. My plans for taking it easy were put on hold. I knew they were not going to cut it at 8:00 AM, but I decided to trick my brain into thinking that I needed to come in under the 8:00 AM for the 4-mile segment of the challenge, which was going to take me going faster than a 10:00-minute-per-mile pace.

Below is the race recap,

Miles 1-4: The Double Down and the four milers all start at the same time. Even with the wide roads, there were a lot of runners in this event, and it got very crowded. This continues to be a very popular race in the area. Given the delayed start, the new plan for today was to still run a fast enough 4 miles to cross the finish line around the original cut-off, and then I could slow down and reassess to see how to tackle the next 10 miles.

There were lots of mini hills, which we were able to tackle well at this time. I started clicking the 1st mile close to 9:45 pace, I was happy, but it was still not time to ease the pace. The water stations were very crowded, and it was hard to grab fluids and keep running; I decided to skip the first one and only grab if the opportunity and space were open for me, not to slow down. The second mile came closer to 9:10, which surprised me, as I was pushing, but not extremely hard. It was overcast, and I was feeling great. I kept holding the pace. Similar to last year, I carried my energy drink with me for this event. Even after a couple of miles, there was a lot of zig-zagging to be able to clear my way and keep the effort ahead of the cut-off.

Mile 3, another close to 9:05 pace. Still feeling ok, but I knew I was not going to hold the pace like this for the whole event. Also, given the effort so far, I was good with coming in before the 8:00 AM mark, the original cuff-off mark by now. The starting point was closer, but then, after finishing the 1st 4 miles, the runners needed to make a sharp right turn, and then make another sharp left and back to the start line. Last mile again another 9:05. At this point, sugars were running good; after this,, I can relax the pace.

Miles 5-10 (or Tar Heel 10 1-6 miles?): Runners running the double down had originally until 8:00 AM to cross the start line for the second time to continue with the challenge. I ran easily and was only ahead of the cut-off by just 1 minute this year, given the delay.

The 1sr couple of miles after starting again were about the same as the 4-miler. I did a check on the effort after slowing down just a tad, getting back to 9:45. I was feeling just ok, but now I am still hitting well faster than the 11:30 min/mile pace that I was planning to do after the 4-mile portion of the event. The heart rate was on the high side, which was not necessarily that bad, but I was keeping an eye on it. I still decided to adjust the pace and grab Gatorade at the water station to hydrate more.

I kept passing runners, especially during the uphills. Now, we have a combination of Double-Down runners and Tarheel 10-milers instead of Tarheel 4-milers.

Miles 11-Finish (or 6-Finish): At this time, I am continuously assessing the effort more often and adjusting; sugars are coming down but just slightly. I am still having fun as I caught up with a few friends, as well as a couple of the 12:00 and 11:30 pacers fot the 10 miler. After a few hills and turns at the water stations after 6 miles, I started to grab couple cups.

Heading to the big downhill, I had to remember to take it easy, as I was still running well under 10:00 pace, and this was the hill that, a, a couple of years back, I hurt my knee that really took a long time to heal. I caught up with one more group of 11:30 pacers, and it was my friend Genno. I tag along for about 1/2 of a mile before I start to press the pace back to the 10:00 minute per mile range. It is getting warm, mostly overcast by now.

Walking the water for the last couple of stations to keep my heart rate in control, but I also picked a couple of hills to power walk, concentrating on fast-moving walking legs. The route at portions narrowed down to a single lane road, which made it a little bit crowded, causing me to switch/adjust the pace often and zig-zag a bit to move ahead of a few runners.

One longer hill at mile 9, nothing too extreme, manageable, but it did cause me to slow down considerably and had me walking some of it. After I reached the crest and into familiar scenery as the course then turned into the same course I had done earlier during the 4-miler event, I pressed the pace as I knew we were closing in on the finish line. After one last refreshing downhill, I tackled the last uphill at a solid pace. As soon as I saw the finish line, I pressed even harder. The uphill pace to finish was very strong. Very happy with today’s performance, it has been a while.

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Month/Year	Event	Location	Type	Time
Apr-25	Tarheel 4 & 10 miler: Double Down	NC	Misc	2:19:48

Highlights:

Course: 1st 4-mile loop course. It is a very popular event that, even with the ample multilane roads, could feel crowded at times. Very hilly, although challenging, not necessarily too extreme.

Then, a 10-mile loop with similar characteristics. However, there is a pesky long hill around mile 9.

Venue: At Start/finish, excellent variety and availability of food, plenty to drink, and amazing volunteers.

Expo: Packet pick-ups are run very efficiently. Multiple vendors, offering the usual items and sales.

Weather: Lots of clouds at the start, followed by somewhat overcast skies, a tad warm 61º with just over 75% humidity.

T1D: Sugars remained high throughout the event.

Fueling:

1 Maurten, Tailwind and water

Learning Points:

• Quick recovery from previous events is critical to having a decent follow-up event.
• Having fun with the crowd and spectators makes the miles go by fast.