Growing potatoes in a 5-gallon bucket

This year, with the square foot garden, I told the kids they could each pick a square to plant whatever they wanted.  Gavin wanted corn (so we're planting four squares because let's be honest, one square of corn?) and Mackenzie wanted to plant potatoes.  We've never tried planting potatoes before and as I researched it, I kind of came to the conclusion that a square foot garden, while it was possible, really wasn't the right place to plant potatoes.  I saw so many websites about planting potatoes in buckets or pails, and I thought it sounded pretty easy.  So we decided to plant potatoes in buckets.  My mom even got on board.  As she started researching planting potatoes in buckets, she read some article that said we had to use "food grade" buckets.  I'd never heard about "food grade" buckets, but my mom found some at Menards, and I found some at Lowe's, so we are planting in 5-gallon "food grade" buckets.

We went to the Burlington Garden Center and they had a large selection of seed potatoes.  We didn't really do any research before choosing the variety of potatoes, but we did pick a russet, a red and a yellow.  First we had to drill holes in the bottom of the buckets for drainage. 

I put about four inches of soil in the bucket and then placed two seed potatoes, and covered them with about another inch of soil.  I used regular potting soil. 

So now they're planted.  After the potatoes sprout above the soil, we will keep adding soil until just the tips of the green is showing, until we fill the bucket with soil.  Every time we add another layer of soil it creates more "root" for the potatoes to grow off of.  I hear homegrown potatoes taste so much better than what you buy in the store.  We are all looking forward to the fall.  Except for Gavin.  Who doesn't like potatoes. 

Raised Bed Garden 2014

Haven't blogged in quite a while, and while I am training for the Green Bay Marathon next month, I've been too busy to blog about it.  But with Spring here and the weather warming up, I am getting excited about planting time.  Last year I had a garden at the bottom of the hill in the back of the house.  It was my first real garden and I was really excited about it.

 It ended up flooding and was under water for three days.  After that, it was mosquito hell, and I didn't even want to think about going down to harvest the tomatoes off the only two plants that survived.

 So this year I moved the garden up to the yard, and decided to do raised beds.  This is mostly because the part of the yard that gets enough sun has too many roots to till up.  And I really like the idea of growing up a trellis, so I'm going to grow the tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and peas vertically. 

Mike and I bought all the materials last Saturday afternoon, but I ended up doing a lot of the calculations at the store because the beds are a little higher than I originally planned for.  I was hoping to get 1x8" cedar planks, but they only had 1x6."  I know the book says you only need a 6" deep bed, but I wanted to grow some carrots and I wanted them to be able to go a little deeper than just 6."  I decided on the spot to buy enough lumber to make the beds 12" tall (well actually, only about 11.5" tall because a 1x6 is really more like 1x5.75) and so I recalculated the soil requirements and ended up coming up short.  I should have calculated for 12".  I will need one more bag of vermiculite to finish off the second bed.

We also bought weed barrier, 1x2" cedar lengths for a trellis, 4 x 3 cubic feet bales of peat moss, 16 bags of compost (a little extra in there for my herb garden), and 8 bags of vermiculite. 

Mike hauled all his tools and saw horses and miter saw and extension cords outside so we could work out where the garden was going.  We cut the boards to length, screwed them together with 4x4 cedar posts for the corners, and made our raised beds.

 

So then we wanted to put the weed barrier down and it turns out I didn't have enough.  I bought a 3x50' roll, but then I ended up deciding to put a little more distance between the beds and the fence, so we needed more.  But I was able to at least get enough under the beds so we could get the soil in.

The hardest part of this whole project was mixing the soil.  By this time we were getting a little tired, but I really wanted to get the soil in.  The formula is 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss.  So we mixed about 3 square feet at a time.  It was very heavy, even though the components are fairly lightweight, at least compared to regular garden dirt.  We mixed them together on a tarp, by rolling them around together like a cement mixer, and then hauled them into the garden.  It took about four mixed loads per bed, and that's when I discovered I was one bag short of the vermiculite.  So we'll have to go back and finish that one off this weekend.

 After we got the soil in, we put a vertical fence on the North end of the North bed and planted peas.  That's all we can really plant right now.  Our average date of last frost is May 20.  We'll plant everything else late May. 

I'm planning on planting these like the Square Foot Garden, each square foot gets something, and a certain number of plants per square foot.  I'm still planning it out, but its mostly done, so I'm pretty excited to get some plants in there. 

Today Mackenzie had to leave school early because she was sick, so I took advantage of the extra time and put the rest of the weed barrier down and stapled it.

The next step, of course, is to get the fence around the outside and put wood chips down over the weed barrier.  I'm hoping to get some from the LaGrange compost site.  Hopefully they have some.  They have in the past, and then I don't have to buy any.

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.)