Ice Age Trail 50 Race Report Part 1

For those who may read this who don't know much about Ultrarunning or trail running, or even running in general.  This is an article that I wrote to try to explain some things.  Not a lot of data in here.  For a more technical in-depth report, see Part 2, which is yet to come.

             If you don’t like the weather in Wisconsin, wait five minutes-it’ll change.  This statement was never truer than on Saturday, May 11 in LaGrange, WI.  The start of the Ice Age Trail 50 Mile race at 6:00 am was cool and overcast, 39 degrees and breezy.  The grass was wet with dew.  I stood near the back of the pack at the starting line in my shorts, a light jacket, and gloves.  I was so nervous I didn’t even notice the cold.  I had been working and training for this race for six months.  Supposedly the temperature would get up to 57 degrees and the wind would rise to 20-30 mph.  It never did get up to 57.  The temperature hovered around 49 degrees for most of the race, dropping to 45 during a period of sleet.  It rained, the sun shone, the wind gusted, the clouds came and went.  And it sleeted.  We had it all. 

Before the start.  My dad and I.

Another picture before the start.

 I’ve run five marathons in the past few years, a couple half marathons, and oodles of 10K’s and 5K’s.  I’ve never gone into a race not knowing if I could finish.  This was my first Ultramarathon, though, (that’s any distance longer than a marathon) and it was the first time I didn’t know if I could finish under the time limit.  I was fairly certain I could cover the distance, but not whether I could do it under 12 hours.  The race was held in the Southern Kettle Moraine Unit, and the terrain is what was left behind after the glaciers came through.   The Ice Age Trail is technical.  It’s hilly, with steep, sharp elevation changes, and it’s rocky and rooty.  My preparation for this race was not what I was hoping for.  Due to our cold, wet spring, I was only able to get out on the trails to train four times before race day.  If I’d had a little more trail experience I think I would have gone into the race much more confident. 

I had a great crew for my race.  Most Ultras allow the runners to have a crew.  Think of them as a pit crew in a NASCAR race.  They change your tires and fill you with fuel and send you on your way with motivational words.  My crew consisted of my boyfriend, my uncle, and my dad.  They’ve never crewed before and had no idea what to do, so we got off to a little rocky start, but after a while we got into the swing of things.  I had my own stuff that the aid stations did not provide.  My crew  would meet me at the aid stations and help me fill my water bottles, take things I didn’t want to carry any more,  took pictures, and filled out the spreadsheet I made (yes, I was that demanding about gathering and documenting as much data as I could for later analysis).   

 

My crew really got into this race.  They even tailgated!  They made breakfast while waiting for me to complete the first 9-mile loop.

 

Part of my crew: from left- my dad, my uncle Mark, and my friend Dave who cheered me on at a couple of aid stations.  Not shown is my boyfriend, Mike, the picture taker.

 

Mike helping me put the camera back on after I'd had it off for rain. 

 

                The race was hard.  Actually, that’s probably an understatement.   It was so challenging that at times I didn’t want to start running again.  The idea of quitting never once entered my mind, but I had to really convince myself to start running again after my walk breaks.  And it got harder and harder to leave the aid stations.  Most people think of a running race and think of a water stop- a table full of paper cups of water and sports drink.  In an Ultra, aid stations provide “real” food because when you’re running that far, you need to fuel your body.  Most aid stations had PB&J sandwiches, bananas, oranges, M&M’s, gummy bears, pretzels, potato chips, and boiled potatoes.  My rule of thumb is never try anything new in a race.  I had trained the last couple of trail runs with PB&J sandwiches, and found that they really worked for me.  So my plan was to eat PB&J and bananas at the aid stations.  I stuck to my plan, but towards the end of the race, I did not want to even look at another PB&J sandwich. 

Various aid stations throughout the race. I ate a lot of PB&J, bananas, and drank my own Powerade because I don't like Heed, which is the energy drink the race provided.

 

After a while, every time I stopped at an aid station, I had to stop and stretch my legs.  I think it helped with the tightness.  I should have started doing it from the beginning.

 

 

 

 

 

Coming in to Duffin Rd Aid Station the first time, 13.1 miles.  I took off my jacket here and put my camera back on.  The drizzle appeared to have stopped.

 

Walking in to Rice Lake Aid Station, 21.7 miles.  It got very bottlenecked getting in and out of this aid station.  This was the southern turn-around point on the course.

 

 

Coming in to the Hwy 12 Aid Station the second time through, 26 miles.

Leaving Duffin Rd Aid Station second time through, 30.2 miles.

                By the time I hit the 40.5-mile aid station, it was about 9 hours into the race.  I had three hours to go less than 10 miles.  I knew I was going to finish.  As soon as I realized that, I started to get emotional.  That was the longest 10 miles I have ever run.  It seemed to take forever.  Part of the difficulty was that I had to go about 7 miles before I would see my crew again.  I think there is a point in every Ultra where the race becomes more mental than physical.  I’ve discovered that your body will keep going, even beyond what you think you can handle, but sometimes you have to convince your mind that your body can keep going.  I often found that I could keep running, once I was running.  The hardest part was to start running again after a stop or walk break.   

Leaving the Young Road Aid Station, mile 47.6.  I had 2.4 to go but it seemed like longer.

Bluff Road, second time through, 48.5 miles.  I didn't stop.  I just wanted to finish, and I'd just stopped at the Young Rd Aid Station 0.9 miles ago.

 

                With a mile and a half left I decided that if I really pushed it I could break 11 hours.  I had 17 minutes.  I wasn’t entirely convinced that I could do it.  I knew that it was doable, but I would really have to run at the limits of my endurance.  No more walking except for the two hills in the last half mile (previously, I was using a 5:1 run/walk strategy).  So I took off and gave it everything I had.  I think my last mile was the fastest mile of my race, and when I came around the last corner and heard people cheering and saw my mom and my kids who came to see the finish, the waterworks started.  I came across the finish line smiling and crying at the same time, with my kids running beside me.  It was the best moment of my running career.  Better than my first marathon.  Better than my fastest marathon.  I came in at 10:57:24. 

At the finish, with my kids Gavin and Mackenzie.

 

 

   I haven’t committed myself to another Ultra, yet.  But I know that after this, I can’t go back to running only shorter races.  There’s something special about achieving a goal so far above and beyond anything you’ve ever done before.  After this race, I will lose three toenails, I think.  But I will do it again, oh yes.  And in a few years, I will be writing about my first 100-miler…

 

 

Second Ice Age Training Run

Today could not have been more perfect for a run.  It was beautiful.  It was maybe 48-50 degrees at the start and sunny.  Very calm, maybe a slight breeze.  It was 60 when I finished.  At times, I was almost too warm, but after the cold wet spring we've had, I can hardly complain.  A hundred or so of us converged again on the Nordic Trailhead for the second and final training run before the race in two weeks.  This time we went North, turning around at Emma Carlin.  It was supposed to be 19 miles.  My watch said 18.75, which is weird because I turned around at exactly 9.50 miles, so not sure where I lost a quarter of a mile...  GPS watches can be like that, though.  Especially in the woods. 

So my goal going into this was to hit 12:30-13:00 pace because my 12:00 average pace from last week was too fast to go 50 miles.  I thought I'd practice hitting a slower pace and see how it felt.  I couldn't get down to it.  I know I went out too hard.  I was much too fast.  And I knew I was too fast, but couldn't slow down.  I know my effort was to hard.  I could tell I was exerting myself more than I should have been, especially if I expect to maintain said effort over the course of 50 miles.

 

 

So my average was probably a minute faster than what I would have liked it to be.  I was definitely feeling it the second half of the run.  My legs felt battered from the ups and downs.  The rocks and roots and jarring of the downhills really got to me today.  Not sure why I didn't notice it so much last weekend.  Could be that the northern section is a little more technical than the southern section.  I don't know. 

So I did my 1 minute walking per 5 minutes of running after I got onto the Ice Age trail, maybe 25 minutes in.  There were times when I stopped to walk when I didn't feel like I needed to.  It was nice and easy and I just wanted to keep running, but I have to tell myself that that little walk break early and often is going to be important in the later stages of the race.  It seemed like a lot of people just had a "run when it's runable" theory.  I wonder how that works?  Do they do more walking towards the end?  If they walked more often earlier, would they be able to run more towards the end?  I know that's the theory.  I'm not willing to test it though.  Too close to race day to do any experimentation.  I saw a lot more people today than I did last week.  I think maybe my pace was influenced by other people, trying to keep moving so people behind me didn't get frustrated, and everyone seemed to be going faster than me and not walking unless it was a hill.  I have to focus on my own race and do what I know to do and not be influenced by others or worry about what they'll think when I'm walking on a perfectly good runable flat. 

I did experiment with my fueling today though.  I made a PB&J sandwhich and cut it into four squares and put two squares in two baggies.  I like real food while I'm running.  Gu is hard to stomach, it makes me sick if I have too much of it.  I've done Pop-Tarts for a while, but last weekend when I tried to eat and I was breathing so hard, the Pop-Tart was too dry and I felt like I was inhaling dry crumbs and it was hard to eat and breath at the same time.  So I know they have PB&J at aid stations, I was thinking what a good fuel, and it will be softer and moister and probably go down easier.  And I was right.  I also bought NutriGrain bars to try, but didn't get to any of them today, so I don't know if I'll use them in the race.  The sandwiches worked well, and I think I'll stick to that.  Maybe Gu or Chomps too, but I like the PB&J. 

I fueled at 45 minutes, 1:30, 2:15 and 3:15.  I felt like at 3:00 hours it was just too soon.  I didn't want to eat at all today.  I didn't get hungry, which is probably a good thing, and just didn't want to when it was time too.  That might be something I struggle with in the race, eating because I know I need to even when I don't want to.  I didn't get sick today though.  A very mild discomfort, not really a headache, but I could tell my exertion was too high.  Not too puffy of fingers today either.  I did drink more, I think.  Every time I stopped to walk. 

So my conundrum now is what to carry on the race.  I haven't been carrying my handheld water bottle much, and last Thursday on my 7-mile run when I did carry it, it was a little awkward and uncomfortable.  Heavy, I'm not used to carrying it.  If that's all I carry, I won't really have a place for Gu's or any other nutrition.  This should really only be an issue on the first loop of the Nordic Trail.  Nine miles before an aid station with nutrition.  The first aid station is just hydration.  So to go nine miles I really should have some fuel with me.  There's a little pocket on my water bottle that could hold a Gu or two.  And if it's chilly at the start, I might be wearing a light jacket or vest that has pockets.  I can get rid of it on my way back through the Start/Finish.  I don't think I want to wear the fuel belt with the two 20-once bottles.  It's heavy.  I don't think I need to be carrying all that weight.  I could wear the little one, with the two 10-once bottles and carry the handheld.  Of course, maybe I wouldn't need the handheld then.  It would be more comfortable for me to run without it.  I wouldn't go more than 5 miles between aid stations.  That's over an hour.  Could two little bottles get me through that?  Probably.  I think that's what I'll do.  It'll seem light after the big fuel belt.  I've got some time to think about it.

I did kick a rock or root or something today with my right foot.  It hurt for a while.  But so far haven't lost any toenails or done any permanent damage, so everything is in working order. 

I did notice how hard it is to pass on the trails.  When someone's coming the other way one of you has to get into the brush so both people can pass.  That kind of sucks.

So in general, I don't feel so confident after today's run as I did last weekend.  Last weekend was 6 miles longer, too.  I felt more beat up today, and my average pace was slower.  Weird.  I have two weeks of some serious tapering now.  Next weekend is 10 miles, and there's quite a bit of rest coming up.  Like tomorrow I don't run, then 5 miles, then the next day I don't run.  Hopefully this taper will do what it's supposed to and on race day I'll still be running and be making that final turn and seeing the building and crossing the finish line.  Under the time limit. 

 

Ice Age Trail Training Run (happy blog)

It has been brought to my attention that my blogs are negative for the most part, and they aren't "happy."  So, after a successful training run today on the trails, I am posting a happy blog.  :)

First of all, I'm happy because my watch didn't shut off on me.  I stopped it and started it twice, thinking that maybe it just went to sleep or something to save the battery due to inactivity?  I don't know, I'm reaching.  But I know last night when I went to plug the watch in it was dead, but when I plugged it in it said 33%, so something is still not right and I was worried that it would shut off on me again today during my run.  I need to get another watch that I can just start a timer I think, so I can maintain my run/walk ratio.  I know for a fact that my watch will die long before I get to 50 miles, probably before I even get to 30 miles in the race.  So, that's on my to do list.

I changed my run/walk strategy for this run.  Actually, the last time I was on the trails I really didn't have much of a strategy because I did so much walking.  This time, I walked for a minute every five minutes.  And I managed to keep that up for the most part the entire run.  (Thanks Aunt Donna)  I ran a few more of the inclines, too.  The longer, steeper ones I walked, but if it was a gradual incline or a short steeper section, I ran up it.  I think it easier for me to run on those uphills and then keep going when I get to the top than it is for me to walk up it and start running again when I get to the top.  That might not be smart in the race, though.  I could potentially waste some much-needed energy by doing that, but it worked pretty well for me today.

I also made sure I fueled every 45 minutes (again, thanks Aunt Donna).  I am wondering if some of my fatigue two weeks ago was because I didn't fuel often enough and I experienced the bonk.  My concern with fueling every 45 minutes is that it is a lot of sugar, even just drinking water, no Heed.  I was nauseous when I got done.  Still am, 3 hours later.  In the race there will be more "real food" options, and there will be some salty starchy things.  I think that will help.  Rails to Trails marathon, I over-gu'd and ended up throwing up at the end from all the sugar sitting in my stomach.  It's something I have to watch out for. 

I also experienced the puffy fingers and headache.  I would attribute it to dehydration, but I made sure I was drinking.  I drank every 5-10 minutes, on my walk breaks.  I suppose it's possible that it still could be dehydration, but I wanted to avoid the sloshy stomach, so I was maybe too conservative there.  I don't know, it sure seemed like I was drinking a lot.

My trail shoes worked well today.  I was happy to have them.  The first half of the run the trails were in really good condition.  The snow and ice are gone and I didn't even hit any mud.  After the torential rains we've been having, I thought there would be mud and standing water in places, but they trail was great.  On the way back it started to get muddy in spots.  I think because the sun was out and the ground was thawing.  The temp to start this run was 28 degrees.  It was 37 when I finished.  The sun was out and it was actually very comfortable.  Too warm at times, in my underarmor and tights, but I'm glad I had them. 

Below is a video of running to Spirit Lake, the turn-around point.  As you'll see, there was some confusion as to where to go once I got there, but I figured it out.  The lake is pretty close to the trail in places due to all the rain, but you can also see how good trail conditions really were today.

So my average pace was 11:49.  I finished the 25.25 miles in 4:58.  I'm thrilled with it, but the question is can I maintain that pace for double the distance?  The answer, unfortunately, is no.  And I know so.  The last mile was kind of hard.  It is possible that that was all psychological, though, knowing that it was the last mile and all.  But I was getting sore and I was walking more inclines, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to dial it back a notch during the race.  Next weekend I'm going to try to see if I can maintain 12:30.  The hard thing about pace on trails is that miles differ from one to the next and if one mile is mostly uphill naturally it will be slower than the mile that is mostly downhill.  But I can go slower.  I need to try to go slower.  But not too slow or I'll be back where I was two weeks ago.  On race day, logic tells me (from previous experience) that I will be able to run faster than in training.  Of course, 50 miles is a long way, so logic is also telling me that it's going to be 20 miles farther than I've ever run and I can run faster for the whole 50 miles.  I think I need to try to aim for 12:30 pace.  Even 13:00 pace would be okay.  Much slower than that and I will start to panic, though, because then I'll be flirting with cut-off times.

I have to watch my toenails this week.  At one point I tripped over a rock and kicked it hard with my right toe and about 10 seconds later I hit another one with my left toe.  They hurt for several miles after that.  Hope I don't lose them.  This is a bad time to have a toenail die.  Race is in three weeks.  In general, today was a great confidence booster.  I ran really well, and it makes me believe that I can do this race after all.  The hay is in the barn, now.  Time to taper.

30-something miles on the trails

This run was disappointing and discouraging on so many levels.  I don't even know how far I ran because my watch stopped working at almost 22 miles, and what makes me really angry about it is that there was still 36% battery power left when I came back and put it on the charger.  So my data ends at 21.85 miles.  

 

What a disappointing run.  I got lost several times, having to double back and add lots of time to the run.  The first 12 miles or so pacing was okay, but I really got slower towards the second half.  Mile 13 was slow because I stopped at Emma Carlin to refill my water bottles and take off my jacket.  Mile 14 I ran into another runner and we talked for a while, so I was doing more walking during that mile than I normally would have.  I'm quite worried about the race, because my pace was slower than 14:00 minutes a mile and that would get me pulled for not making the cutoff times at the race. 

I'm not sure what to attribute the slow pace to.  My road long run pace is 10:30.  I really don't think my trail pace should have been 14 or 15 minutes per mile.  There are several variables that could have affected this so I'm going to try to work through them here.  I really wish I could have had my watch working the last half of the run.  I did quite a bit more running towards the end, and I'm really curious what my pace was. 

I wonder if any of this had to do with fueling.  I probably should have fueled more often.  I stuck with my normal 6 mile plan, and I'm thinking that wasn't enough.  I probably should have fueled twice as often.  "They" say every 45 minutes of activity.  I usually make it more like an hour, but with the pace I was running, 6 miles took well over an hour and a half, so I think I should have fueled more often.  Hydration was an issue, too.  I ran out of water at the end of the run.  I was lucky and got to refill my water bottles at Emma Carlin, which was about 12-13 miles into the run.  But there was no more water for the rest of the run and I ran out. 

The trail conditions were fairly poor, as well.  There was a lot of snow, ice and mud.  It was hard to run through, and actually, a lot of my walking can be contributed to poor trail conditions.  But there was a lot of terrain issues too that caused me to walk, lots of inclines and towards the second half of the run I even had to walk the downhills.  The rocks and roots were just too hard for me to avoid.

 

 

I don't know how reasonable it is for me to run faster during the race.  Even with trail conditions better, which I hope they are, can I run faster without burning out and hitting a wall? 

I have to say, all that running at the end of my run did come after a Gu Roctane.  And a little before that I'd had an FRS Energy shot.  Maybe it was just a matter of fueling why I walked so much in the middle.  During the race, most aid stations are going to have food.  I think I'm just going to eat at every aid station.  It might be easier to break the race down, too.  Just get to the next aid station (which is only 2-4 miles away).  Might prompt more running, knowing my next mini goal is not that far off.

With trail conditions as bad as they were, I was often off to the side of the trail trying to get around big puddles or ice patches.  I got pretty scratched up and cut up from thorns and branches. 

I fell on one patch of ice pretty hard on my way North.  I scraped up my hands and forearms and elbow pretty good, and my butt.  A little stinging and a sore elbow, but I was able to keep running after a minute.  I almost fell twice more, sliding on mud and then tripping over a rock.  I was pretty beat up after this run. 

I really have to figure out why my watch turned off.  That just pisses me off.  I got lost on the way back to Nordic, where I started.  I think I turned onto the wrong horse trail, but I didn't know the exact mileage where I should be looking for it, so I think I turned too early and ended up on Bluff road completely lost.  I had to call Mike in tears for him to come and get me.  At this point it was 6:00 pm, I had already been out for two hours longer than I thought I'd be.  I couldn't get ahold of Mike, so I tried his dad, knowing they were working on the house together.  He didn't answer either, so I called home and talked to my Dad.  He was on his way out the door to get me when I finally got a hold of Mike.  Mike was only five minutes down the road, so he came and got me and saved my Dad a 45 minute drive out.  And then I lectured him about turning his ringer on so that he'd hear the phone when I tried to call him. 

So in general, I don't know why this was so slow.  I did have to stop and try to figure out where I was several times, and that made those miles slower, and the trail conditions were very poor for running in many areas.  But is that enough to justify such a slow pace?  I don't know.  More fueling?  I am discouraged.  I'm worried about the race because if I can't stay ahead of the cutoff I will be pulled from the race and I won't finish.  I thought a 14 minute mile would be easy to stay ahead of.  Not sure now.

I can chalk this up to a learning experience, but I'm not sure what I learned.  I think I just need more practice out on the trails.  And I can't get negative.  At the end of the run yesterday I didn't want to go back out again, and I almost considered switching from the 50 mile to the 50K for the race.  I don't even know if I can switch.  I just want to finish the race.  That's all I want.  If I do it in 11:59 I would be thrilled.  But right now I'm worried that I won't be able to finish under the time limit.

24-miler- first experiment with run/walk strategy

It was cold and kind of windy today, the sun periodically popping out to warm me, but mostly a normal winter run.  It was 30 degrees, with a windchill of about 20.  The roads were nice and dry and I wasn't wet, so I can't complain too much even though we are about 10 degrees below average for this time of year.

I set out today with one main goal, and that was to experiment with a run/walk strategy.  After discussions on a forum, I decided to walk for three minutes after every three miles.  Not having run/walked in any of my marathons, I know that this is going to take some practice to teach myself to get used to beginning to run again after a short walk.  The first few times wasn't too bad, and it was nice to be able to fuel and hydrate while walking instead of running.  And it gave me a good opportunity to rotate my right shoulder without almost losing my balance, which I try to do every three miles on my run.  And I have to say, my shoulder feels pretty good tonight. 

After the 18th mile as I started up again after my walk, I noticed what felt like a blister, or a hot spot under a callus on my right big toe.  I know there's a callus there, and it felt like there was a blister forming under it or a lump in my sock or a rock stuck on the bottom of my shoe, or something.  After running for a few yards, the pain of it went away, but it was still something that at this point in my race, would worry me, as I wouldn't even be halfway done with the race yet and I can be pretty sure it would just get worse.  After walking the final time, the pain was worse, and so this is something I have to keep an eye on.  It's possible that I may need to change shoes or socks halfway through the race.  That may create different pressure points on my feet.  When I took my sock off and looked at it tonight when I got home, I couldn't see anything, so if there is a blister it's under the callus.  So I need to pumice away those calluses as quickly as possible now during my showers.  I know blisters tend to form under calluses and it is good to keep them worn down.  Previously I haven't had to worry about it, but with my runs getting longer and longer, now I'm going to have to be proactive about it. 

My last walk break was actually 21-1/2 miles into the run, not 21.  I hit the 21 mile mark just before the beginning of a long shallow descent, so I waited another half mile until the descent became an ascent and took my walk break then. 

I have to say, I think I held up pretty well considering this is my longest training run to date (for any event I've done).  In the last mile, I may have tried to push a little bit more than I should have.  I now have some pain in my right glute.  I haven't had pain here before.  I was expecting pain in my groin and hip/flexor area, because that's where it normally hurts the most after a long run.  There was some, and part of me was hoping there wouldn't be any using this run/walk strategy.  But its not too bad, and actually my glute pain is the worst pain right now, two hours later.  Hopefully I didn't pull something and it'll go away.  I might need a good massage tonight to work out the soreness.  ;)

My fueling plan was to consume a more calories, especially on a run this long.  I was going to fuel every six miles.  Good opportunity while walking.  At my six-mile walk break I took a Hammer Gel.  At my 12-mile walk break I took half a Clif bar.  I couldn't eat the whole thing in three minutes and while I could have finished it while running, I chose not to.  Well my stomach was rumbling a mile or two later and I decided to finish my Clif bar at my next walk break, after mile 15.  So I did, I couldn't finish it in three minutes, so I finished it while running.  My stomach was still feeling empty and rumbling a little bit so I decided to continue on my planned fueling strategy and consume more calories three miles later at mile 18.  I had a Lava gel.  The gels go down quicker than chewing a bar.  I may have to consider buying some more.  I don't feel like I hit a wall or anything, so my fueling worked.  I did feel a little cramping in my belly towards the end of the run, but that could have been a hydration issue.  I drank every three miles, and sometimes in between.  When it's cold I don't feel thirsty, but I should plan on drinking more as it warms up.  I also had puffy fingers, which again could be contributed to hydration, and also some head pressure when I sniffed.  All can be attributed to hydration.  I may need to drink more.  I know I'll need to drink more during the race, and as it warms up and I sweat more.

All in all, this was a successful experiment for run/walking.  I am going to continue to run/walk the remainder of my long runs, as I believe it will lead to quicker recovery.  One thing I noticed was that my walking only added about a minute to my average mile pace.  Not bad at all.  And once I get on the trails, and my running pace is slower, I think it will add even less to my average.  That's a good sign.  For the recovery benefits it will give me, I'll take a minute slower. 

Okay, well, I'm showered and re-fuelled and now it's time get the kids in bed and get my glute massaged and get to bed myself.  I have five miles tomorrow.  (By the way, I ran a hilly 5K race yesterday, so if it did affect this run I couldn't tell.  If I hadn't run that race today may have gone even better.)

Fog!

Yesterday's 14-miler was a rainy, foggy one.  It was like running through pea soup, as the saying goes.  I couldn't see more than 30 feet in any direction, which made crossing busy Hwy 11 interesting.  I had to use my ears more than my eyes on this run.

The whole run started out kind of crappy.  I ran at my mom and dad's house after church, so I had to bring my running stuff with me.  I forgot my sports bra, Garmin and mp3 player.  So I couldn't listen to my book, but that's happened before and wasn't that big a deal.  My sports bra, well luckily there's not much there to support, but my underarmor is compression wear, and that helped, so it was only a minor inconvenience.  The watch, though, I almost went home and got it but then decided that I knew my route, and having every second of my run electronically uploaded to Garmin Connect is nice, but not necessary.  The important thing is logging the miles.  So I did.  And it was probably a good thing, because it allowed me to hear the traffic around me long before I was able to see it.

There were two spots on my run where there was standing water all the way accross the road.  The first time, I tried to dicely run my way through it, but I got pretty wet.  The second time, I walked through it and got less wet, but not much more less.  It was only a half mile from home, so I just dealt with it.  I really don't like running in the rain.  The difference between this run and the 20-miler I did in the rain a few weeks ago was that it wasn't as windy, so it wasn't as cold.  My first two or three miles were fine, it was just wet out, and I started thinking it wouldn't be too bad if it would just stay like that.  But then it started raining and rained pretty much the whole rest of the way.

It was only 14 miles, but I like knowing where my pace is at and when I should be drinking and eating and rotating my right shoulder (I get a pinched nerve or something after long runs in my right shoulder-I find rotating it periodically througout the run helps).  I wish I could have had my watch.

On another note, I am starting to get worried about the trail.  I haven't been on a trail yet and this race is in two months.  There's so much snow this winter.  I'm getting a little worried about the trail conditions, but more worried that I won't get to train adequately on the trails.  There are two training runs in April organized by the race director and I'm going to do them both.  I'm going to pick every brain I can and get advice and nuggets of wisdom from experienced trail/ultra runners. 

I've been thinking about my run/walk strategy and I'm starting to wonder if I really need to do a set 20/5 or whatever.  I'm starting to think I should just run when I feel good and walk when I don't.  But I can't help but think walking a little bit early on will pay dividends later in the race.  I want to talk to some people! 

I also started watching some Youtube videos of this race.  Oh I'm getting so excited to do this!  One guy had a camera on his person that he took video of while he was running.  I looked into what kind of camera he might have been using and I believe it was a GoPro Hero 3.  I want one!  Really bad!  But they are really expensive, even on eBay, so I'm going to look into if there are any cheaper ones out there that would do the same thing.  GoPro is designed specifically for sports, it's water-proof and there was surprisingly little bouncing.  I really want to document this race.  I'm going to take a camera and I want to video along the way too.  I'm even thinking of taking a voice recorder so I can record some of my thoughts along the way to put into my race report afterwards.  So I don't forget things I want to say.  Sigh.  I suppose I could spring for it.  I can afford it, I just don't want to pay that kind of money. 

Okay, off to work, 10 miles today, should be slow after yesterday, but hopefully it doesn't rain on my again.

22 Miler

Well I really couldn't ask for a better day for a long run.  Yesterday I ran 22 miles.  The weather was near perfect.  It was sunny, low to mid-30's about 5-8mph winds.  It was a really really nice day.  The roads were dry, except for a section here and there where the snow has drifted and not melted. 

I was hoping this 22-miler might be like my last 22-miler, last spring when I was three weeks out from the Lake Geneva Marathon.  I felt so good that day I could have gone forever.  That's how you like to feel after a long run.  Yesterday, I felt pretty good, but felt a little slow.  Of course, it's a long run and it's supposed to be slow, but I still felt obligated to maintain a certain pace.  I did fall off about 30 seconds per mile the last two or three miles.  My last mile was good, right up where it was at the beginning, but the 20th and 21st miles were a little slow.  My groin/hip flexors were definitely hurting when I got done.  But it's 22 miles.  It's not supposed to be a walk in the park.  I took my time stretching afterwards, and this morning I don't feel any acute pain, just general soreness.  My 5-miler today should be slow and painful for the first mile or so, and then hopefully just slow after that.  I did have some pain and extreme tightness in my ankles after I'd been sitting for awile, which is odd.  I don't usually have any aches and pains in my ankles.  They seem to be okay today.

I also started to feel a sharp pain in my right temple every so often starting about mile 16.  It was distracting.  I drank a little more water, thinking maybe it was a dehydration issue.  It hurt for the rest of the run and then the rest of the night, so I need to find out why I got a headache in the middle of my run.  I didn't like it and I don't want to do it again.  It probably was dehydration.  Of course, the exertion could be a part of it too, but I don't remember ever getting a headache during a run before.  I have before and after, but not during.  Strange.

So 22 miles are in the books and I'm none the worse for wear.  Still wondering how I'm going to run a race more than double that distance in a few short months.  I really feel the need to get on the trails and get to the right pace and start a run/walk strategy.  I haven't practiced any of that yet. 

I ate pop-tarts for my fuel.  2/3 of one at 7 miles, another 2/3 at 13 and the final 2/3 at 19.  I didn't feel like I hit a wall or crashed or anything like that.  During the race, I'll have to take a look at where the aid stations are.  I'll be eating at each one, probably.  Fuel early and fuel often.  I sure don't want to bonk when it's preventable.  I'm still treating this like marathon training.  I can't wait to start getting on the trails.  With all the snow here, it'll be a while yet, though. 

Next snowstorm is tomorrow.  Good thing Tuesdays are my rest day. 

Kindle Fire to the rescue!

So the windchill was below zero all day, winds were gusting up to 40 mph and there was snow blowing all over the place.  So needless to say, I chose to run on the dreadmill tonight. 

I've been dreading this workout all day, knowing from the time I looked at the weather report this morning that I wasn't going to be running outside.  Nine miles on the mill.  Ugh. 

But on the way home, a thought occurred to me.  I have this pretty new Kindle Fire and I can watch video on it!  I thought, hey I can watch some TV shows or a movie while I run!  And so I did, and let me tell you, 9 miles never went by quicker on the treadmill than they did tonight.  What a revelation!  Not boring at all!  The only downside was that I couldn't hear that well over the sound of the treadmill running, but I got the gist of it, so all was well.  I was very pleased and my run wasn't nearly as miserable as I had been anticipating. 

Using the Kindle Fire to avoid the misery and boredom of the treadmill makes that purchase way worth it!

20 Miles in the rain and wind

Well today's run was miserable, which I expected.  It was cold, windy and rainy.  And it was the longest run of the training program so far, which means it hurt.  Oh, and my Mp3 player wouldn't turn on, so it was also boring because I couldn't listen to my book.  Thank God it's over.

I expected, after my 18-miler two weeks ago, in which I death-marched it in the last three or four miles, that today's run was going to be similar:  painful, especially in my hip flexor/groin, which is where I am always the most sore after long runs.  Today, though, there was no death march.  And I think I know why, which is even better!  On my 18-miler, I think I started off with a pace that was just a little too fast, which led to slower second half averages and a decided decline in pace in the last couple miles.  Today, my average first half time was slower, which bothered me a little bit at the beginning, but I was able to maintain that pace pretty consistently throughout the entirety of the run, finishing without hitting the wall or feeling any pain out of the ordinary long run pain.  Yay!  A little disappointing is the fact that in previous marathon training programs, I've run the 20-milers at faster paces, but I have to take into account that those 20-milers didn't come until three or four months into the training program, and I'm currently about a month and a half to two months in, without building much of a base prior to starting this program.  So, I'm okay with it.  I have plenty of long runs throughout the program.  And as soon as I get on the trails, there won't be any comparison anyway.  It'll be all learning from scratch, with nothing to judge against.  And I haven't started practicing any run/walk strategies yet.  So, that, too, will slow down my overall pace.

So today was in the mid-30's for most of my run, with 20mph winds, so the windchill was down in the 20's.  and it was raining.  It rained the entire run.  It started raining hours before my run, and it's still raining now, hours after my run.  At times, just a drizzle, at times, really coming down.  I was soaked a few miles in.  I tried to keep from running into any puddles to keep my feet as relatively dry as possible for as long as possible, but pretty soon I was hearing the squishing, and feeling it in between my toes, and I just hoped that the softening of the skin from the water wasn't going to lead to blisters.  I think I might be okay.  A few toes had some tender spots in between them, but no full blown blisters, yet, so I think I lucked out.  It might not have been as bad if it hadn't been so windy.  It was hard to run with the rain blowing into my face.  And hard to breath, and eat and see.  I was sniffling most of the run, my nose was running so bad.  I should really learn to blow snot AND ockets.  I spent most of the run hunched over, just looking about two feet in front of my feet, sometimes not even that far.  I was not a defensive runner at all today.  Usually I'm paying very careful attention to the cars, but today I just hugged the side of the road and gave no more than a cursory glance at the cars as they neared. 

The other major bummer about today's run was that my mp3 player wouldn't turn on for some reason.  I think somehow it unformatted and the content got deleted.  Happily, I only have one book on it right now and I just downloaded it from the library this week, so I was still able to transfer it to my mp3 player.  After a week it goes back to the library.  Most of the books I listen to I have to get on a weeks-long waiting list and so it could have been quite inconvenient.  So I re-transfered my book over to it and it's working fine now.  I don't know what happened.  But it's too bad that it did, because my run seemed long.  I like listening to books because they keep my mind occupied and make the miles go by a little quicker.  Not today.  Today I had nothing but my thoughts.  And they were boring, lol!

So, overall, it was one of the most miserable long runs I've had.  I can think of one or two ways in which it could have been worse, but not any more than one or two ways.  At least there was traction today.  Last weekend we'd just gotten all that snow, and there were parts of the roads that led to treacherous footing.  I didn't have that problem today, so there, it could have been worse.   But it's over and now I'm warm and dry and showered and cooking food because I'm famished and can't wait to eat.  Next weekend I have a 5K race on Sunday, so my long run will be on Saturday, but it's only 14 miles, and hopefully we'll have some better weather.

Treadmills suck

I hate running on the treadmill.  I think I've said this before if previous posts.  Or else whined about it on Facebook.  Regardless, if you know me, you know how much I hate running on the treadmill.  There are several reasons for this, but the biggest reason is because it is so BORING!  I just run in place, every step exactly like the last one, staring at the wall of my garage.  The wood grain in one spot looks just like a little alien head.  And there's another spot where there's a sliver of wood sticking out and between that and the shadow it makes, it looks like a barbell with two triangles underneath it.  And I know where every nail is and the shadows they make.  Needless to say, if it weren't for my books on my mp3 player, I don't think I would ever run on the treadmill.  I suppose if I had a TV to watch it would be a little more entertaining, but like I said, the treadmill is in my garage.


So yesterday I chose not to run, even though it wasn't a scheduled rest day.  It was blizzardy out, really windy and sleety-snowy and cold.  I didn't want to run in it.  And I also talked myself out of it because I was feeling a little under the weather.  I'm on the verge of a cold.  And I knew that I didn't feel that bad, and I should have run because a couple days down the line I might be sick enough that I am justified in not running, but yesterday wasn't it.  So I didn't run and I regretted it all day today.

Today is even colder, windchill is 7 below zero and it is again really windy.  Tomorrow is supposed to be even COLDER, with windchills around 20 below and 20mph winds again.  At those temperatures, a run outside is just silly.  I did it last year and the year before that and I'm not sure I really gained anything from it.  It's dangerous to be out when it's that cold, especially if you have any exposed skin.  And it's just absolutely miserable.  You can hardly see, or breath, when the wind is that strong and there's snow blowing around.  Plus the footing is treacherous and cars don't see you because they aren't looking.  So on those days I choose the "dreadmill."

Today I ran 7 miles, tomorrow I will run another 7 miles. I hate how long runs take on the treadmill. Runs of the same distance always seem longer on a treadmill than when they are out on the roads.  But, nevertheless, I got my run in.  So I feel better now.  It should warm up into the 20's by Sunday's long run. 

Beginning Ice Age 50 Training

So it's been about a month  now, and I'm well into my training program for the Ice Age 50 on May 11, 2013.  Yesterday was an 18-miler and after death-marching it home the last two miles, I wonder how I can possibly do 50 miles?  I'm feeling quite aprehensive at this point.  Then I remind myself that I'll be running a much slower pace (even though my pace slowed down about a minute from the beginning of my run to the end of it yesterday).  But it'll also be on trails, and I haven't had the opportunity to get on the trails since last year sometime.   And I haven't run anything long on trails, either. 

My previous experiences with trail running were discourarging, to say the least.  I felt sore afterwards, and I thought it was hard on my feet to be sliding around, unbalanced, negotiating dips, roots, and rocks.  Hard on my knees, too, the sudden ups and downs of the trail.  I'm hoping that if I can get more consistent running in on the trails, I will be able to adapt to it and it won't be an issue during the race.  I'm most definitely not a trail runner.  Not that I'm unwilling, just haven't had much opportunity.  I expect that going from roads to trails will be similar to going from the treadmill to the roads.  That one winter that I ran on the treadmill and then went out and raced a 5K on the roads taught me a lesson.  Treadmills don't allow some of your stabilizing muscles and tendons to get a workout because the treadmill does the stabilizing for you.  I vowed never to seriously train on a treadmill again after hurting my knees that spring training for my first half marathon. 

I expect going from roads to trails is similar.  There are some stabilizing muscles and tendons that probably are not strong enough because they aren't used on the roads.  I hope that I can strengthen them as I get more into the trail runs and I won't experience the discomfort that I did when I ran on trails sporadically. 

I also need to start practicing my run/walk technique.  I know I will need to decide upon some kind of ratio to run/walk.  Running a whole 50 miles on trails is not practical, for me anyway.  I'm thinking that I will walk all the uphills (I keep reading that in every book or article I read about Ultras), and then I'll use a 25/5 or 20/5 run-to-walk ratio.  So I have to start practicing that.  I've never utilized a run/walk technique so this will be new to me.  I will probably start utilizing it during my first 20-miler.  I don't know at what point to start the run/walk in the race, though.  I've read articles where some people start running and then after several miles they start their run/walk.  I also know there are people who start their run/walk right away.  So how will I do it?  I don't know yet.  I need to do some trail training and get some practicing in.  Unfortunately, the trail is snow-covered for a while, so it'll be several weeks before I can get on it. 

Also dealing with some shoulder pain after my long runs.  Not sure if it's a muscle thing or a pinched nerve or what.  It's the right shoulder, and the pain will decrease after a few days, but immediately after a long run I can barely find a position to sleep in that doesn't cause absolute agony in my shoulder.  Last night it hurt, but not as bad as my last long run.  I tried working it a little bit during my run, rotating it and trying to keep it loose.  I wonder if that helped?  I also tried stretching it afterwards.  Maybe I should try doing some stretching before my next long run and see if that helps.  It's hard to move and especially hard to sleep with it hurting as bad as it does.

I'm entering into hard/easy/hard/easy weeks now, so next week will be a 12-miler.  The week after that is the first 20-miler.  More on the training as it happens!