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.