A few weeks ago my friend Maria (whom I trained with and ran Superior 100) put out a post on the Minnesota Dead Runners Society list asking if anyone was interested in a New Years Eve/Day run at the Murphy Hanrehan Park, near her home. She received responses from a handful of people and an organized run was born.
The plan was to start the run at 8AM for 20.07 (or so) miles. As I posted yesterday, we were in the middle of a torrential downpour. It was still raining HARD at 5 AM this morning when I awoke, and kept pouring for most of our run.
At 745 I pulled into the lot. Shortly thereafter Maria pulled in with her roving aid station. Honest to God, her mini van has been the aid station more times than I can count on one hand. Today she had it stocked with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, orange slices, cookies, cookies and more cookies, salted nut rolls, candy bars, M&M's, potato chips, coke, water and many more items I am sure. Thank you Maria!!!
Scott, Alicia, Lynette and Kevin pulled in with Bob, Chris and Doug following. Shortly thereafter came Les, John and Doug. We had a great turnout!
The temperature stated 42F, the rain was coming down in sheets. The forecast told us that it was going to turn over to snow late morning and that we could receive 5" of snow. THE snowfall of the year, as we've only received like one inch so far.
We took off down the trail, sloshing through the puddles and exclaiming how it sure felt like April. The trail was very very muddy and wet, we were soaked within a few minutes.
The conversation was excellent, it was so wonderful to spend some time on the trail with my friends. I realized I haven't run with people since Ed Fitz. Well, maybe 1 or 2 run clubs since Ed Fitz, but that is it. I enjoyed running with my friends so much today.
We ran 8.5 and came back to the parking lot; refueled and hydrated. A few left for dryer climates and the rest of us took off for another loop. We were all quite chilled as we stood around talking, talking, chewing, chewing for long enough to get cold. Soon enough we were warmed up. I had to take off a shirt as I over-dressed.
I was following Maria closely from behind and slosh! Right into a huge puddle with ice hiding what was below-a few inches of icy water! That is what I get for following too closely :)
Back to the lot for MORE food and MORE drink and MORE conversation until the chills set in again..off we were for more fun and miles.
We ended up seeing one barn owl-that was it for the wildlife. We saw many deer tracks but we were talking so much, I am sure we scared them off before we could reach them.
It was a lot of fun to find out what races we are all going to run next season. A few of us will be running the snowshoe marathon in a few weeks, Les is going to run a 50K in Kansas that Maria and I are thinking we will participate it as well. February 10, I believe.
We were talking about FANS and I stated I finally have that monkey off my back. After a discussion I think I have decided to try Kettle Morraine 100 instead of FANS again this year.
An hour or two before we finished the rain finally turned over to snow. We could feel the temp drop and the winds escalate. I was getting tired.
The Murph is a gem of a park to run in; lots of different trails and routes with a ton of hills! We ended up running 23 miles.
After changing into dry warm clothes in my car I was ready to head for home. In a snowstorm! It was horrible. I saw many accidents and cars in the ditch. I was shaking while driving because I am such a chicken on ice. It was glare ice. With snow on top. It sucked big time. The snow was so heavy that I couldn't see the road, I drove super slow.
At last I arrived home, took a hot shower and decided I did NOT want to go to our friends home another hour away for their party. I would have to do the driving home and I was not up to it. The family agreed and we stayed home to watch another movies. We're liking this NetFlix thing!
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Saturday, December 30, 2006
42 Miles for 42 Years
Happy Birthday to Me!
I planned a perfect way to spend the day: on the trail, running 42 miles.
I arranged for the boys to be picked up early by my sister to head to the water park for the day. Steve was going to pick up my car at the trail to have my remote starter installed. I was planning on finishing up by 1 PM, time to shower, grocery shop and get the boys hair cuts upon their return. I let my family know my wish for today was to run long and to spend the night watching movies. What a great birthday!
Cooler was packed with apples, bananas, grapes, cheese, Subway sandwich; I had lots of HEED and water; gels, dry gloves and socks.
At 4AM Topaz and I were ready to roll. The trail was wet, not even icy. At 4 AM it was already 37F outside. Crazy. Cloudy, so very dark. I had my headlamp and a hand held flashlight, spare batteries.
It was so quiet out there, quiet and extremely dark. Topaz is freaky over lights; he kept on trying to herd up my beam. Good grief! He is skittish and the dark shadows freaked him out more than once. I was quite amused while I watching him.
The hours ticked by..at 9 AM I headed out to my car and caught Steve as he was ready to leave for the shop with it. I talked him into walking a loop with me. How could he refuse? I am out there running 42, it is my birthday, all I want is for him to walk a loop with me..he did, and he enjoyed it too. Or, at least he wouldn't let on that he wasn't having a nice walk. He couldn't imagine how I could actually want to go any further, but that is one of the differences between he and I. The more I go, the more I want to go.
I piled all of my stuff from my car to his truck and then refueled and made sure Topaz took in some calories and water. We were all set for a few more hours of running.
I spent all day out there and never saw ONE other person! I am surprised that there aren't many others who use the trail, but I am sure grateful that it is quite private. Of course it began to rain quiet heavily..yeah..rain on December 30..so that probably was a deterrent for many.
We finished running right on schedule; no aches or pains, no Advil necessary. I consumed a whole Subway during the day, an apple, banana, a few gels and lots of HEED.
Home to shower and get groceries before the boys and Steve arrived home. After they arrived we fit in the hair cuts, had dinner and then it was movie time. We watched a few episodes of 24 (I bought Tyler the first 4 seasons for his Bday), Mission Impossible III and Super Size Me.
What a great day.
It's now 43 F at 10PM; it is raining cats and dogs out. Tomorrow I'm meeting some friends am the Murph for 20.07 miles of running trails. I better get to bed.
I planned a perfect way to spend the day: on the trail, running 42 miles.
I arranged for the boys to be picked up early by my sister to head to the water park for the day. Steve was going to pick up my car at the trail to have my remote starter installed. I was planning on finishing up by 1 PM, time to shower, grocery shop and get the boys hair cuts upon their return. I let my family know my wish for today was to run long and to spend the night watching movies. What a great birthday!
Cooler was packed with apples, bananas, grapes, cheese, Subway sandwich; I had lots of HEED and water; gels, dry gloves and socks.
At 4AM Topaz and I were ready to roll. The trail was wet, not even icy. At 4 AM it was already 37F outside. Crazy. Cloudy, so very dark. I had my headlamp and a hand held flashlight, spare batteries.
It was so quiet out there, quiet and extremely dark. Topaz is freaky over lights; he kept on trying to herd up my beam. Good grief! He is skittish and the dark shadows freaked him out more than once. I was quite amused while I watching him.
The hours ticked by..at 9 AM I headed out to my car and caught Steve as he was ready to leave for the shop with it. I talked him into walking a loop with me. How could he refuse? I am out there running 42, it is my birthday, all I want is for him to walk a loop with me..he did, and he enjoyed it too. Or, at least he wouldn't let on that he wasn't having a nice walk. He couldn't imagine how I could actually want to go any further, but that is one of the differences between he and I. The more I go, the more I want to go.
I piled all of my stuff from my car to his truck and then refueled and made sure Topaz took in some calories and water. We were all set for a few more hours of running.
I spent all day out there and never saw ONE other person! I am surprised that there aren't many others who use the trail, but I am sure grateful that it is quite private. Of course it began to rain quiet heavily..yeah..rain on December 30..so that probably was a deterrent for many.
We finished running right on schedule; no aches or pains, no Advil necessary. I consumed a whole Subway during the day, an apple, banana, a few gels and lots of HEED.
Home to shower and get groceries before the boys and Steve arrived home. After they arrived we fit in the hair cuts, had dinner and then it was movie time. We watched a few episodes of 24 (I bought Tyler the first 4 seasons for his Bday), Mission Impossible III and Super Size Me.
What a great day.
It's now 43 F at 10PM; it is raining cats and dogs out. Tomorrow I'm meeting some friends am the Murph for 20.07 miles of running trails. I better get to bed.
Friday, December 29, 2006
2006 Recap and Pondering 2007
It's already been two years since I began this blog. It has become more than I ever intended. This blog began as a place to write my thoughts, to log my miles and race reports.
I have 'met' so many wonderful cyber people through this blog, and through your own blogs. I have been inspired by so many of you, and I thank you for your cheers and well wishes as I try to reach new highs.
I began this blog on my 40th birthday. I wasn't looking forward to turning 40, I was quite depressed by the thought. Thank goodness the days leading up to turning 40 were worse than turning 40 itself. As I look toward turning 42 tomorrow, it is no big deal! I'm happy where I am and wouldn't change a thing.
2006 was quite a year for me. I excelled at running, surpassing my wildest dreams and goals. My goals were to PR at all ultra distances 50K-100 mile to 24 hour. I was able to check off that goal. I PR'd at 50K, 50 mile, 100 mile and 24 hour. Running McNaughton 2 hours faster than the previous year gave me the confidence I needed to try 100 miles at FANS. FANS scared me. I had dropped out the previous year at 12 hours and hadn't been able to reach 100 miles during my 2 prior attempts. Lo and behold, I was able to run 116.8 miles and capture 2nd woman. CRAZY. Voyaguer 50 mile came along and I wanted to break 1030. I did, 1026. Incredible when you take into account my first V was 1406, then 1234 and 1045. September brought Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Race. I was confident that I had a good solid training program to get me to the finish. I logged plenty of miles on the SHT and had Maria to run the race with. Damn. I couldn't finish it. I DNF'd at 77 miles.
My 2006 goals of finishing 3-100 miles races was going to bring me to my 2007 goals: Running The Grand Slam. Because I DNF'd at Superior, I may not have had the confidence to try the GS. I may have decided to finish Superior instead of trying Wasatch. Because I didn't get into Western States, I don't have to worry about it.
That brings me to my main goal for 2007: Finishing the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Race. To get to the finish line I will add longer back to back runs on the SHT. My legs gave out at 77 miles. I'll run the 50K up there in May on a Saturday, followed by another 20 mile on the SHT on Sunday. I'll go up for weekends, training back to back long runs mid summer to late summer. I'll finish that race..or damn near die trying!
I'm also going to dip my toes into the sport of triathlon. Those that have been reading my blog since inception will know that my friend Ann and I were training for triathlon in the months before she was diagnosed with Lymphoma, Stage 4. We were biking 20-30 miles and swimming. Her swimming was getting pretty strong, mine still sucked. It still sucks. When Ann was diagnosed at the end of October we still had plans of completing the Chain of Lakes triathlon in May. After Ann passed away in February, I just couldn't bring myself to complete the triathlon without her.
It's been a tough (almost) year that Ann has been gone. Running all of the races this past summer without Ann has been especially tough.
For 2007 I will complete the Chain of Lakes triathlon, in May. I'm going to train with Team in Training for the 2007 Lifetime Fitness Olympic Triathlon and will be collecting funds for Lymphoma Cancer Research in Ann's memory. I'll then try my hand at a 1/2 Ironman..looking like either Pigman or Steelhead. Collecting funds in Ann's name and helping to further the research for Lymphoma Cancers will get me into the pool. I know that Ann will be with me. 2008 will bring another 1/2 Iron and Ironman WI.
I'll also run the McNaughton 100 mile in April; I love that race! This year they are adding a 150 mile option..I just don't know that I want to go around the course an additional 5 times. June will bring me to FANS, and you know, now that the fear is gone I might as well try cracking that 100 again. I'll run my usual favorites: Superior 50K, Afton 50K, Voyaguer 50 mile; yes, I'm a creature of habit. I don't have the money or the time to travel long distances to run my races. I enjoy the Minnesota races very much and am very happy right here.
I guess I better get into the pool...
I have 'met' so many wonderful cyber people through this blog, and through your own blogs. I have been inspired by so many of you, and I thank you for your cheers and well wishes as I try to reach new highs.
I began this blog on my 40th birthday. I wasn't looking forward to turning 40, I was quite depressed by the thought. Thank goodness the days leading up to turning 40 were worse than turning 40 itself. As I look toward turning 42 tomorrow, it is no big deal! I'm happy where I am and wouldn't change a thing.
2006 was quite a year for me. I excelled at running, surpassing my wildest dreams and goals. My goals were to PR at all ultra distances 50K-100 mile to 24 hour. I was able to check off that goal. I PR'd at 50K, 50 mile, 100 mile and 24 hour. Running McNaughton 2 hours faster than the previous year gave me the confidence I needed to try 100 miles at FANS. FANS scared me. I had dropped out the previous year at 12 hours and hadn't been able to reach 100 miles during my 2 prior attempts. Lo and behold, I was able to run 116.8 miles and capture 2nd woman. CRAZY. Voyaguer 50 mile came along and I wanted to break 1030. I did, 1026. Incredible when you take into account my first V was 1406, then 1234 and 1045. September brought Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Race. I was confident that I had a good solid training program to get me to the finish. I logged plenty of miles on the SHT and had Maria to run the race with. Damn. I couldn't finish it. I DNF'd at 77 miles.
My 2006 goals of finishing 3-100 miles races was going to bring me to my 2007 goals: Running The Grand Slam. Because I DNF'd at Superior, I may not have had the confidence to try the GS. I may have decided to finish Superior instead of trying Wasatch. Because I didn't get into Western States, I don't have to worry about it.
That brings me to my main goal for 2007: Finishing the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Race. To get to the finish line I will add longer back to back runs on the SHT. My legs gave out at 77 miles. I'll run the 50K up there in May on a Saturday, followed by another 20 mile on the SHT on Sunday. I'll go up for weekends, training back to back long runs mid summer to late summer. I'll finish that race..or damn near die trying!
I'm also going to dip my toes into the sport of triathlon. Those that have been reading my blog since inception will know that my friend Ann and I were training for triathlon in the months before she was diagnosed with Lymphoma, Stage 4. We were biking 20-30 miles and swimming. Her swimming was getting pretty strong, mine still sucked. It still sucks. When Ann was diagnosed at the end of October we still had plans of completing the Chain of Lakes triathlon in May. After Ann passed away in February, I just couldn't bring myself to complete the triathlon without her.
It's been a tough (almost) year that Ann has been gone. Running all of the races this past summer without Ann has been especially tough.
For 2007 I will complete the Chain of Lakes triathlon, in May. I'm going to train with Team in Training for the 2007 Lifetime Fitness Olympic Triathlon and will be collecting funds for Lymphoma Cancer Research in Ann's memory. I'll then try my hand at a 1/2 Ironman..looking like either Pigman or Steelhead. Collecting funds in Ann's name and helping to further the research for Lymphoma Cancers will get me into the pool. I know that Ann will be with me. 2008 will bring another 1/2 Iron and Ironman WI.
I'll also run the McNaughton 100 mile in April; I love that race! This year they are adding a 150 mile option..I just don't know that I want to go around the course an additional 5 times. June will bring me to FANS, and you know, now that the fear is gone I might as well try cracking that 100 again. I'll run my usual favorites: Superior 50K, Afton 50K, Voyaguer 50 mile; yes, I'm a creature of habit. I don't have the money or the time to travel long distances to run my races. I enjoy the Minnesota races very much and am very happy right here.
I guess I better get into the pool...
Monday, December 25, 2006
Monday, November 27, 2006
Inov-8
I still can't quite believe that Inov-8 offered a sponsorship to me. Every once in a while I'll receive a box of goodies. Today I received a box of goodies for the winter running season. How cool is that? I've ever so grateful.
Unbelievable..
Today after my run with Topaz I saw a box on the front step. Ooohhh...it was from Inov-8, what will it contain?
Well, Merry Christmas to me! 4 more shirts, 3 pair of shoes-Gortex, of course, thick socks, 2 more running bras and uh..two.. pouches????
See the black and blue pouch. Hmmm..what is zippered up in there?
Well, Merry Christmas to me! 4 more shirts, 3 pair of shoes-Gortex, of course, thick socks, 2 more running bras and uh..two.. pouches????
See the black and blue pouch. Hmmm..what is zippered up in there?
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Topazs' First Road Run
I had been thinking about how I was going to fit in a run today, preferably with Topaz. During the week he is stuck inside of the house for 6 hours, anxiously awaiting his family's return. I didn't want to run without him.
I decided I'd try him on-leash, in town, while Tyler was at his 5:00 guitar lesson. Troy had a basketball practice from 630-830, I was planning on attending the gym during that time slot.
Topaz has run in our neighborhood before, off leash. We live out in the country, there isn't much traffic, I live on a dead end with .5 mile of driveway so he isn't used to moving vehicle traffic. He lives a sheltered life!
After some digging around I found a waist belt webbed leash I purchased for him online but had never put to use before. I found his collar. Tyler packed up his guitar, we were ready to roll.
I don't know why I haven't taken Topaz with me during the guitar lesson run. I guess much of the time it is too warm, the pavement is too hot for him, and I don't mind running without him once in a while. I knew he'd love it, hell, he'd love running over a molten lava field as long as he was running and he was with me. He loves me.
I brought Tyler to his lesson, parked the car and Topaz and I began our run. Oh my gosh, he pulled and pulled and pulled. I couldn't believe how he pulled me forward. He was making that gasping choking sound and I was going as fast as I could go! Thank goodness he was fastened by the waist band because I needed my arms to pump as fast and hard as they could!
We had a few miles in before we came upon the lake, I took out my flashlight so we could see where the rocks were and he went in for a swim and drink. Back out to the sidewalk and another mile before we came upon the real heavy traffic along Highway 10. The asphalt path is inbetween the lake and the highway for a while. Topaz is not used to traffic; this was heavy heavy traffic. Semi trucks, people honking at us that recognized me, trains, etc. He ran even faster! I realized what a country dog Topaz is. He was confused as we waited for a red light. I had him sit and stay and he's like 'why? I have my leash on and we are going for a run. what's up?'
Eventually we came upon a heavily wooded area where I was able to take the leash off and he could romp around as he loves to do. I realized he hadn't fully extended his legs during the whole time he was on leash. There was no way that he could while I was attached to him! He had stopped gasping early on, but there was never any slack in the 10 feet of leash between us.
He ran all out, tearing up the field, legs fully extended. I sat in a ball on the grass and panted.
He kicked my ass. I'm proud of him! He did very well on his first run in town. We now have a new Tuesday run around the lake.
We finished our run in time to pick up Tyler, get back home; pick up Troy and get on back to town for basketball practice, as I went to the gym..for workout #2: shoulders and back.
Is it wrong to have a dog for a best friend?
I decided I'd try him on-leash, in town, while Tyler was at his 5:00 guitar lesson. Troy had a basketball practice from 630-830, I was planning on attending the gym during that time slot.
Topaz has run in our neighborhood before, off leash. We live out in the country, there isn't much traffic, I live on a dead end with .5 mile of driveway so he isn't used to moving vehicle traffic. He lives a sheltered life!
After some digging around I found a waist belt webbed leash I purchased for him online but had never put to use before. I found his collar. Tyler packed up his guitar, we were ready to roll.
I don't know why I haven't taken Topaz with me during the guitar lesson run. I guess much of the time it is too warm, the pavement is too hot for him, and I don't mind running without him once in a while. I knew he'd love it, hell, he'd love running over a molten lava field as long as he was running and he was with me. He loves me.
I brought Tyler to his lesson, parked the car and Topaz and I began our run. Oh my gosh, he pulled and pulled and pulled. I couldn't believe how he pulled me forward. He was making that gasping choking sound and I was going as fast as I could go! Thank goodness he was fastened by the waist band because I needed my arms to pump as fast and hard as they could!
We had a few miles in before we came upon the lake, I took out my flashlight so we could see where the rocks were and he went in for a swim and drink. Back out to the sidewalk and another mile before we came upon the real heavy traffic along Highway 10. The asphalt path is inbetween the lake and the highway for a while. Topaz is not used to traffic; this was heavy heavy traffic. Semi trucks, people honking at us that recognized me, trains, etc. He ran even faster! I realized what a country dog Topaz is. He was confused as we waited for a red light. I had him sit and stay and he's like 'why? I have my leash on and we are going for a run. what's up?'
Eventually we came upon a heavily wooded area where I was able to take the leash off and he could romp around as he loves to do. I realized he hadn't fully extended his legs during the whole time he was on leash. There was no way that he could while I was attached to him! He had stopped gasping early on, but there was never any slack in the 10 feet of leash between us.
He ran all out, tearing up the field, legs fully extended. I sat in a ball on the grass and panted.
He kicked my ass. I'm proud of him! He did very well on his first run in town. We now have a new Tuesday run around the lake.
We finished our run in time to pick up Tyler, get back home; pick up Troy and get on back to town for basketball practice, as I went to the gym..for workout #2: shoulders and back.
Is it wrong to have a dog for a best friend?
Monday, November 13, 2006
Racing Topaz
What a fun run today! After work I came home, changed clothes and told Topaz 'let's go for a run!' We headed off to the trail before the sun was going to set. The sky was beautiful: pinks, oranges and yellows. I didn't have my camera. I'll bring it next time!
I felt pure happiness again while running. It's been a while. I've felt burnt out, in a rut, whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure what is was. Probably still a sting from Superior 100. That won't go away until I finish her.
Anyhow, as I and Topaz were running I began to laugh, to talk to Topaz, and realized I hadn't done that in quite some time either.
I felt awesome, happy, strong and fit. I was trying to race Topaz. As he would meander off of the trail to chase a deer, or smell a turkey, I'd run up ahead as fast as I could. Inevitably, he'd notice I was ahead of him and tear up the trail as fast as he could, passing me, and getting in another 200 feet for good measure. I can not beat that dog. Ever. I kept trying, it was hilarious. For my last effort, he took off for a pheasant, of course the trail happened to go up hill, I ran as fast I could, trying to be quiet so he wouldn't notice that I was ahead of him. I didn't get half way up the hill when he came tearing by me as fast as he could go. I couldn't stop laughing. What a speed demon I have created in him! He truly loves running as much as I, plus he has that little Border Collie herding instinct working for him.
As we walked to the trail head I realized I was laughing, beaming, just having a grand time. I'm so glad I'm back!
I felt pure happiness again while running. It's been a while. I've felt burnt out, in a rut, whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure what is was. Probably still a sting from Superior 100. That won't go away until I finish her.
Anyhow, as I and Topaz were running I began to laugh, to talk to Topaz, and realized I hadn't done that in quite some time either.
I felt awesome, happy, strong and fit. I was trying to race Topaz. As he would meander off of the trail to chase a deer, or smell a turkey, I'd run up ahead as fast as I could. Inevitably, he'd notice I was ahead of him and tear up the trail as fast as he could, passing me, and getting in another 200 feet for good measure. I can not beat that dog. Ever. I kept trying, it was hilarious. For my last effort, he took off for a pheasant, of course the trail happened to go up hill, I ran as fast I could, trying to be quiet so he wouldn't notice that I was ahead of him. I didn't get half way up the hill when he came tearing by me as fast as he could go. I couldn't stop laughing. What a speed demon I have created in him! He truly loves running as much as I, plus he has that little Border Collie herding instinct working for him.
As we walked to the trail head I realized I was laughing, beaming, just having a grand time. I'm so glad I'm back!
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Seeing Orange
This morning the deer hunting opener for rifle took place. Steve and Tyler headed up north to get the almighty buck. I and Troy will be home enjoying the next three weekends in each other's company.
I and Topaz headed out for the trail early this morning. The hunters were out and shooting. The trail which I run is closed to hunters, and it is well posted as such. However, there are hunters surrounding the property, and the sound of gun fire in unnerving. I have orange running jackets - and Topaz wears his orange dog jacket as well. We ran a nice 10 mile route, never seeing any hunters but watched many many deer. Topaz was very busy herding them back to me.
After the run I came home and picked up Troy. We headed to the gym. I had a plyometric workout on tap. Oh good lord almighty. It kicked my ass. Big Time.
Last night the new trainer emailed me this workout and I was like, 'wow, no weights!' Well, no wonder. He wrote me to go hard and fast on the cardio, which I did. Warmed up with 10 minutes running, then plyometrics. Step jumps, jump over step, lunge on step, stairstepper break, jump on and off step, mountain climbers, elipitical break, bend and thrust, dumbbell step up with lunge, walking lunges and finish off with a 15 minute sesson on the treadmill at 8.5 mph. HELLO!
I was wringing wet and exhausted. Yeah. He calls this a 'fat stripping bootcamp workout'. I call it hell. I don't want to see it on my workout list again! I'm sure I will be there again.
Ugh.
I and Topaz headed out for the trail early this morning. The hunters were out and shooting. The trail which I run is closed to hunters, and it is well posted as such. However, there are hunters surrounding the property, and the sound of gun fire in unnerving. I have orange running jackets - and Topaz wears his orange dog jacket as well. We ran a nice 10 mile route, never seeing any hunters but watched many many deer. Topaz was very busy herding them back to me.
After the run I came home and picked up Troy. We headed to the gym. I had a plyometric workout on tap. Oh good lord almighty. It kicked my ass. Big Time.
Last night the new trainer emailed me this workout and I was like, 'wow, no weights!' Well, no wonder. He wrote me to go hard and fast on the cardio, which I did. Warmed up with 10 minutes running, then plyometrics. Step jumps, jump over step, lunge on step, stairstepper break, jump on and off step, mountain climbers, elipitical break, bend and thrust, dumbbell step up with lunge, walking lunges and finish off with a 15 minute sesson on the treadmill at 8.5 mph. HELLO!
I was wringing wet and exhausted. Yeah. He calls this a 'fat stripping bootcamp workout'. I call it hell. I don't want to see it on my workout list again! I'm sure I will be there again.
Ugh.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
BOO!
Happy Halloween!!
Oh yes, another October 31. Troy and Steve are out doing their trick or treating. They ride throughout the area on the four wheeler, Troy getting all of the candy that he can. He just thinks it is a great deal: FREE CANDY! What could be better for a 10 year old?
It's 23F with a cold blustery 40 mph wind; windchill of 5 so I don't thing they will be out too long. Just long enough for Troy to fill his goody sac.
I am so sore. I lifted 8 different leg exercises today; 4-6 sets each with reps of 12-15; that's higher than what I am used to. My trainer is mixing it up and boy can I feel it Legs are toast. I am lifting 6x a week, going on week 2. Sunday is a day off: cardio only. Ha! I'm doing cardio bursts inbetween my sets and my Topaz runs as additional cardio. Trying to burn off the fat and feed the muscle. We'll see how this experiment works.
I'm eating clean as can be, as usual. Only difference really is the oats for the AM meal..then eating 5-6 small meals a day, usually totaling 1400-1600 calories a day. Higher than what I'm accustomed, but I'm ok with it for now.
Today and tomorrow I am at the gym at 4 AM as I can't fit in the evening Mom duties and run and lifting in one night. I was shocked to see 3 others at the gym at that ungodly hour.
Stay warm and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Oh yes, another October 31. Troy and Steve are out doing their trick or treating. They ride throughout the area on the four wheeler, Troy getting all of the candy that he can. He just thinks it is a great deal: FREE CANDY! What could be better for a 10 year old?
It's 23F with a cold blustery 40 mph wind; windchill of 5 so I don't thing they will be out too long. Just long enough for Troy to fill his goody sac.
I am so sore. I lifted 8 different leg exercises today; 4-6 sets each with reps of 12-15; that's higher than what I am used to. My trainer is mixing it up and boy can I feel it Legs are toast. I am lifting 6x a week, going on week 2. Sunday is a day off: cardio only. Ha! I'm doing cardio bursts inbetween my sets and my Topaz runs as additional cardio. Trying to burn off the fat and feed the muscle. We'll see how this experiment works.
I'm eating clean as can be, as usual. Only difference really is the oats for the AM meal..then eating 5-6 small meals a day, usually totaling 1400-1600 calories a day. Higher than what I'm accustomed, but I'm ok with it for now.
Today and tomorrow I am at the gym at 4 AM as I can't fit in the evening Mom duties and run and lifting in one night. I was shocked to see 3 others at the gym at that ungodly hour.
Stay warm and have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Ed Fitz 100K Race Report
Another fantastic weekend with friends! You know, it is not only the races that are fun..but spending a weekend with a bunch of friends, with like minded interests is really a cool way to spend a few days.
I arrived Duluth Friday afternoon and met up with John and Cheri Storkamp at the DECC. We then had an early dinner at Pizza Luce'. I, of course, had my pre race staple of spaghetti. They do a superb spaghetti and meatball with a ceaser salad and breadsticks. I had the same meal at Luce' the night before Voyageur.
We then visited quite a few shops in Canal Park. We stopped by a Chocolatier. I purchased Troy a caramel apple covered in Oreo cookie and gummy worms (dirt and worms) and bought Tyler a caramel apple covered in peanut butter and chocolate chips (peanut butter cup). John purchased 4 decadent chocolates that I and Cheri helped him to consume as we walked back to the DECC for our race packets.
There was a 30 mile an hour wind and SNOW! It was horrible. We stopped at Caribou for a hot coffee to take off the chill. There was even snow accumulating on the ground.
At the DECC we were able to pick up the race packets for Scott and Kevin, as they would be arriving later with Alicia, who was crewing for us. Pierre would meet us at Kathy's a bit later as well.
Back to Kathy's to unload everything, set up camp, meet up with the others and go to bed. We all slept together in a separate little guest house that Kathy has. It was very nice and cozy, although, by the time we left this morning, the little guest house and taken on an order of garlic and sweaty tired runners. I and Alicia were very priveliged, as we were able to sleep together in the pull out bed. The others had the floor and mats.
Our alarms went on at 245 AM. Oh lord, what in the world were we thinking? The wind was howling-howling, and the snow flakes were falling. Brrrrr. Who wants to do this? I, Pierre, Scott, Alicia and Kevin headed out at 315; John and Cheri were able to sleep in a bit later as John was taking the 7 AM start. If you think it will take you over 10 hours, you are encouraged to take a 5 AM start. John is fast. It wouldn't take him that long to cover the distance.
We drove to Finland and arrived with 15 minutes to spare. We checked in with the race director and headed back to the car to sit with Alicia until the start. It was SO cold. 25F and windy with snow flakes. Ick. Finally, we got out of the car and noticed that people were already running down the street. I asked a woman if the race had begun. Infact, it had. We missed the "START". Oh well. We began to run, only catching one person during the next 50 miles! We caught one other soloist at about 55 miles. Unbelievable.
The race is for soloists, running the 100K, and there is also a team relay taking place, as well as a 50K solo/relay. The soloists are allowed a crew vehicle to follow, and you can take aid from the vehicle at each 5K aid station. Alicia followed I, Scott and Kevin during the whole race. At each 5K checkpoint she would pull over and ask us what we needed. It was such a treat! I had a cooler of sandwiches, HEED and Ensure to pick from. There were cookies and snicker candy bars at each aid station. No sandwiches, potatoes, bananas or the usual ultra food. Having Alicia is the best. She would take my gloves, get me my sunglasses, get my food and drink; she is awesome. She is always positive and smiling, just what we needed. She even went to get hot coffee for Kevin and Scott.
The relay teams could begin between 5 and 7 AM. Each person does a "leg" of the race, carries a baton to hand off to the next team member, the vehicle driving along, following them.
What's so much fun is that the relayers really think that the ultra runners are rockstars. They cheer for us, bow to us, tell us we are an inspiration, crazy, etc. It's amazing. You have cheerleaders all along the course.
Before we left John and Cheri at Kathy's, I told John to make us proud. I thought he was going to go for the win and knew he could win the race. He told me that if all worked out he'd see us at 40 miles. Last year he passed Scott and I at 40 miles.
Yesterday he passed us at 21 miles!! All of a sudden, here comes Cheri, driving along...I damn near died. Here comes John, yelling and screaming "run until they are bloody stumps!" He was flying. Flying I say! Man, what a sight. Flying up the road, nobody anywhere near him, running fast. We were all in awe and wished him well. He flew on and Cheri told us that the nearest competion was a mile back. Go John. Kick ass and take names.
Pretty soon the Big Lake Run Club team came by. My friends that I run Wednesday night Run Club with. It was so great to see them out on the course. I look forward to it every year. We came up to a 5K check point and they all piled out, hugged and wished me well. They were having a fun time, Kevin was running the next leg so I high fived him and off he went. We didn't see them again.
I tried something new. I've never tried Ensure before but figured I'd give it a whirl. I purchased some Vanilla Ensure with High Protein. It was on ice and went down quickly and easily. I drank one container every 10K and didn't feel sick to the stomach or anything from it. Each container had 230 calories, a good fast way to get energy down. I packed sandwiches but didn't want the heavy full feeling they provide. I ate one sandwich at the beginning and carried one with me for 6 hours until I finally pitched it.
I, Kevin and Scott ran the whole 100K together. It was Kevin's first 100K. He ran his first 50K at Afton this July, his first 50 Mile at Voyaguer in July and his first 100K yesterday. That is so awesome! This was Scott's 6th Ed Fitz; my 4th. We had so much fun. I was one of the guys for the day. I burped, farted and swore with them. We sang songs and had great conversation. Scott knows every tree, sign and landmark along the course. He was our tour guide. He would say "we'll run up to the No Passing Zone." We would run up to the sign, take a walk break "we'll run to the far end of the guard rail" and we would. We took many walk breaks, did a lot of hard running. We were so damn tired.
At 50K Scott looked at his watch and couldn't believe we were over 6 hours. He was in shock. How can we be over 6 hours? It's never taken me 6 hours to get over 50K he said. We're running hard. The effort is tough. What the hell? I and Kevin were like, yeah, whatever, who cares about the time? I really didn't. I was EXHAUSTED. I was doing great mentally, which is where I usually check out, but I was tired physically. I have many miles on my legs this year and I didn't taper at all. I ran 60 last week and Twin Cities Marathon the week before. I knew I'd be tired. Scott ran Twin Cities and just came back from hiking the Grand Canyon for the better part of a week. He was tired too. Kevin ran Twin Cities too and just wanted to finish the 100K. Me too.
As we ran on, Scott was still perplexed at the time. Eventually he said he wasn't going to look at his watch any more. He'd look at the sun as a sundial as it was more our pace. It was too, we were slow, but felt like we were going as fast as we could. I could not push it one bit faster. No way no how and I was fine with that.
I had to take 4 Advil during the first 10K, the back of my damn knees were stiff and sore. I didn't feel any more pain until the last 5K, so that was good. I was just tired.
The last 20K was a grind. We knew we would finish, but when the hell were we going to finish? We all felt like walking but that would have taken forever so we kept grinding out the running sections, walking every now and again.
Alicia told us John's nearest competion was over 30 minutes behind him and Pierre was a few miles ahead of us.
We kept on grinding out the miles.
Finally, the finish was in sight. Another mile and we'd be there. Alicia had parked the car at the finish and walked back out to us. We all ran into the finish together. We had Kevin first, me second and Scott third. I think we finished 13:10 or so. I don't recall a clock and looked at my watch a bit later at 13:30, so I'm guessing. We did it. Thank God it was over. The wind, oh my gosh, it was an extremely tough day!
Pierre finished in 11:50.
JOHN WON THE RACE! HE WON THE RACE IN 8:08. Can you imagine??? He held that blistering pace where he blew by us the whole freaking way? He won the race and the second place finisher was AN HOUR behind him. Oh yeah.
We all went back to Kathy's for showers and then went to the DECC for the finishing ceremony. They call up each soloist, introduce us one at a time, we ring the bell, get our jar of taconite and take a place on stage. John, as the winner, had to give a speech. He thanked Cheri for crewing him the past three years at the race, all of the relayers for cheering him on, and his group of friends that make it all so much fun.
We were so damn tired. And hungry. We went back to Pizza Luce' where I had a huge ceasar salad with chicken and almost fell asleep at the table. At 1100 we had been awake for 20 hours, we climbed into our sleeping bags and were instantly asleep.
What an awesome weekend. Thanks for the memories you guys!
I arrived Duluth Friday afternoon and met up with John and Cheri Storkamp at the DECC. We then had an early dinner at Pizza Luce'. I, of course, had my pre race staple of spaghetti. They do a superb spaghetti and meatball with a ceaser salad and breadsticks. I had the same meal at Luce' the night before Voyageur.
We then visited quite a few shops in Canal Park. We stopped by a Chocolatier. I purchased Troy a caramel apple covered in Oreo cookie and gummy worms (dirt and worms) and bought Tyler a caramel apple covered in peanut butter and chocolate chips (peanut butter cup). John purchased 4 decadent chocolates that I and Cheri helped him to consume as we walked back to the DECC for our race packets.
There was a 30 mile an hour wind and SNOW! It was horrible. We stopped at Caribou for a hot coffee to take off the chill. There was even snow accumulating on the ground.
At the DECC we were able to pick up the race packets for Scott and Kevin, as they would be arriving later with Alicia, who was crewing for us. Pierre would meet us at Kathy's a bit later as well.
Back to Kathy's to unload everything, set up camp, meet up with the others and go to bed. We all slept together in a separate little guest house that Kathy has. It was very nice and cozy, although, by the time we left this morning, the little guest house and taken on an order of garlic and sweaty tired runners. I and Alicia were very priveliged, as we were able to sleep together in the pull out bed. The others had the floor and mats.
Our alarms went on at 245 AM. Oh lord, what in the world were we thinking? The wind was howling-howling, and the snow flakes were falling. Brrrrr. Who wants to do this? I, Pierre, Scott, Alicia and Kevin headed out at 315; John and Cheri were able to sleep in a bit later as John was taking the 7 AM start. If you think it will take you over 10 hours, you are encouraged to take a 5 AM start. John is fast. It wouldn't take him that long to cover the distance.
We drove to Finland and arrived with 15 minutes to spare. We checked in with the race director and headed back to the car to sit with Alicia until the start. It was SO cold. 25F and windy with snow flakes. Ick. Finally, we got out of the car and noticed that people were already running down the street. I asked a woman if the race had begun. Infact, it had. We missed the "START". Oh well. We began to run, only catching one person during the next 50 miles! We caught one other soloist at about 55 miles. Unbelievable.
The race is for soloists, running the 100K, and there is also a team relay taking place, as well as a 50K solo/relay. The soloists are allowed a crew vehicle to follow, and you can take aid from the vehicle at each 5K aid station. Alicia followed I, Scott and Kevin during the whole race. At each 5K checkpoint she would pull over and ask us what we needed. It was such a treat! I had a cooler of sandwiches, HEED and Ensure to pick from. There were cookies and snicker candy bars at each aid station. No sandwiches, potatoes, bananas or the usual ultra food. Having Alicia is the best. She would take my gloves, get me my sunglasses, get my food and drink; she is awesome. She is always positive and smiling, just what we needed. She even went to get hot coffee for Kevin and Scott.
The relay teams could begin between 5 and 7 AM. Each person does a "leg" of the race, carries a baton to hand off to the next team member, the vehicle driving along, following them.
What's so much fun is that the relayers really think that the ultra runners are rockstars. They cheer for us, bow to us, tell us we are an inspiration, crazy, etc. It's amazing. You have cheerleaders all along the course.
Before we left John and Cheri at Kathy's, I told John to make us proud. I thought he was going to go for the win and knew he could win the race. He told me that if all worked out he'd see us at 40 miles. Last year he passed Scott and I at 40 miles.
Yesterday he passed us at 21 miles!! All of a sudden, here comes Cheri, driving along...I damn near died. Here comes John, yelling and screaming "run until they are bloody stumps!" He was flying. Flying I say! Man, what a sight. Flying up the road, nobody anywhere near him, running fast. We were all in awe and wished him well. He flew on and Cheri told us that the nearest competion was a mile back. Go John. Kick ass and take names.
Pretty soon the Big Lake Run Club team came by. My friends that I run Wednesday night Run Club with. It was so great to see them out on the course. I look forward to it every year. We came up to a 5K check point and they all piled out, hugged and wished me well. They were having a fun time, Kevin was running the next leg so I high fived him and off he went. We didn't see them again.
I tried something new. I've never tried Ensure before but figured I'd give it a whirl. I purchased some Vanilla Ensure with High Protein. It was on ice and went down quickly and easily. I drank one container every 10K and didn't feel sick to the stomach or anything from it. Each container had 230 calories, a good fast way to get energy down. I packed sandwiches but didn't want the heavy full feeling they provide. I ate one sandwich at the beginning and carried one with me for 6 hours until I finally pitched it.
I, Kevin and Scott ran the whole 100K together. It was Kevin's first 100K. He ran his first 50K at Afton this July, his first 50 Mile at Voyaguer in July and his first 100K yesterday. That is so awesome! This was Scott's 6th Ed Fitz; my 4th. We had so much fun. I was one of the guys for the day. I burped, farted and swore with them. We sang songs and had great conversation. Scott knows every tree, sign and landmark along the course. He was our tour guide. He would say "we'll run up to the No Passing Zone." We would run up to the sign, take a walk break "we'll run to the far end of the guard rail" and we would. We took many walk breaks, did a lot of hard running. We were so damn tired.
At 50K Scott looked at his watch and couldn't believe we were over 6 hours. He was in shock. How can we be over 6 hours? It's never taken me 6 hours to get over 50K he said. We're running hard. The effort is tough. What the hell? I and Kevin were like, yeah, whatever, who cares about the time? I really didn't. I was EXHAUSTED. I was doing great mentally, which is where I usually check out, but I was tired physically. I have many miles on my legs this year and I didn't taper at all. I ran 60 last week and Twin Cities Marathon the week before. I knew I'd be tired. Scott ran Twin Cities and just came back from hiking the Grand Canyon for the better part of a week. He was tired too. Kevin ran Twin Cities too and just wanted to finish the 100K. Me too.
As we ran on, Scott was still perplexed at the time. Eventually he said he wasn't going to look at his watch any more. He'd look at the sun as a sundial as it was more our pace. It was too, we were slow, but felt like we were going as fast as we could. I could not push it one bit faster. No way no how and I was fine with that.
I had to take 4 Advil during the first 10K, the back of my damn knees were stiff and sore. I didn't feel any more pain until the last 5K, so that was good. I was just tired.
The last 20K was a grind. We knew we would finish, but when the hell were we going to finish? We all felt like walking but that would have taken forever so we kept grinding out the running sections, walking every now and again.
Alicia told us John's nearest competion was over 30 minutes behind him and Pierre was a few miles ahead of us.
We kept on grinding out the miles.
Finally, the finish was in sight. Another mile and we'd be there. Alicia had parked the car at the finish and walked back out to us. We all ran into the finish together. We had Kevin first, me second and Scott third. I think we finished 13:10 or so. I don't recall a clock and looked at my watch a bit later at 13:30, so I'm guessing. We did it. Thank God it was over. The wind, oh my gosh, it was an extremely tough day!
Pierre finished in 11:50.
JOHN WON THE RACE! HE WON THE RACE IN 8:08. Can you imagine??? He held that blistering pace where he blew by us the whole freaking way? He won the race and the second place finisher was AN HOUR behind him. Oh yeah.
We all went back to Kathy's for showers and then went to the DECC for the finishing ceremony. They call up each soloist, introduce us one at a time, we ring the bell, get our jar of taconite and take a place on stage. John, as the winner, had to give a speech. He thanked Cheri for crewing him the past three years at the race, all of the relayers for cheering him on, and his group of friends that make it all so much fun.
We were so damn tired. And hungry. We went back to Pizza Luce' where I had a huge ceasar salad with chicken and almost fell asleep at the table. At 1100 we had been awake for 20 hours, we climbed into our sleeping bags and were instantly asleep.
What an awesome weekend. Thanks for the memories you guys!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Twin Cities Marathon
Yesterday after Troy's football game I traveled to St. Paul to meet up with Marie and Bonnie, both of whom were running Twin Cities. We headed off to the Expo to do all of the shopping and wandering. All I kept thinking is that there are WAY too many people. Too many people in St. Paul, too many people at the Expo; I realized how much I love living in Rural Minnesota! I'm actually glad that I no longer work downtown, too. The people, the noise, the smell..it all drove me insane. Or am I just PMSing?
After we picked up our packets we headed over to Cosetta's for a lunch lunch. It was fantastic. I had chicken and pasta. Yeah, pasta. Haven't had that since Superior 100! Yummy.
By 1000 last night I was in bed, read for an hour and drifted off. Back up at 4 AM to get ready for the marathon.
Curt, from my Run Club offered to pick me up today so I didn't have to drive and park and bus or anything. At 545 I realized I had given Curt incorrect directions. I told him to take a Left when he should take a Right into my neighborhood. I grabbed my running flashlight and ran out and up the road, carrying my race bag. I saw a van take a turn into the darkness and thought it was probably he. It was. A few more blocks to run and eventually I caught up with them! Thank goodness!
After we picked up Steve we were on our way to the Dome. My knee hurt. It felt stiff, it has been stiff since Superior. I tried not to think about it.
Peg, Curt's wife, dropped us off at the Dome. It was chilly, 50F and windy, but a high of 84 was forecast. Much warmer than we had anticipated.
I had picked up a 350 pace band at the Expo, but really didn't think I could run a 350. I wanted to get in under 430 though. I figured if I could catch the 450 or 4 pace group I'd hang with them and see how I felt. My nagging knee was making me nervous.
10500 of us began the race. Again, I was thinking about too many people, too crowded, too loud, too many bad smells. I was thinking I LOVE TRAILS! I love woods, I love peace and quiet and room to run. My god, it was CROWDED. The guy in back of me kept on running on the back of my shoes. It sucked!
I got over the resentment of 10500 others and tried to navigate myself through the throngs of people. We were backed up and congested. Running the parkways around the lakes was damn near impossible. Miraculously I found the 430 pace group, then the 400 pace group and the 350 group. I hung with the 350's for 16 miles. I had NO knee pain. I couldn't even believe it. The route unclogged and I was able to enjoy myself. So much so, that I decided I hang back a bit. I ran a bit slower and watched the 400 team come along. This was a fun group. I ran with them over the next 10 miles.
Some odd things: I only stopped to pee one time. Usually I make 3-4 stops. I drank at each aid station, I took one E Cap since it was warm, but I didn't begin to swell until AFTER I took the E Cap. Maybe I didn't need it? I didn't take anymore. I consumed 4 Espresso Hammergels and wasn't hungry or headachy or tired or anything.
I had a very enjoyable time. I took in the crowds of spectators, the beautiful landscape. The trees are turning, there was a nice breeze, it was sunny..just beautiful. Once I got past the crowds, I really enjoyed the race.
The last miles along Summit Avenue are fantastic. It runs downhill, you are almost near the end, there are huge mansions with big oaks and maples, turning brilliant orange and red.
Yeah, I loved it.
I was able to get a PR for this course. I've run TCM 6 times; my fastest was 4:09, my PR for a marathon was at Grandmas last year at 359. I finished today in 4:00 right on! I ran like hell the last mile, trying to get a 359, but didn't. And I'm fine with 4:00! More than fine. Exuberant. No knee pain! I wasn't sure what I would be able to do today. I promised myself I'd walk off the course if my knee hurt. It didn't!
Now I feel ready for Ed Fitz 100K. Definitely :) A few more back to back long ones and I'll be there.
THE TWINS WON TODAY AND DETROIT LOST SO YEAH BABY WE WON THE DIVISION!! WOOHOO WHAT A GREAT DAY!
After we picked up our packets we headed over to Cosetta's for a lunch lunch. It was fantastic. I had chicken and pasta. Yeah, pasta. Haven't had that since Superior 100! Yummy.
By 1000 last night I was in bed, read for an hour and drifted off. Back up at 4 AM to get ready for the marathon.
Curt, from my Run Club offered to pick me up today so I didn't have to drive and park and bus or anything. At 545 I realized I had given Curt incorrect directions. I told him to take a Left when he should take a Right into my neighborhood. I grabbed my running flashlight and ran out and up the road, carrying my race bag. I saw a van take a turn into the darkness and thought it was probably he. It was. A few more blocks to run and eventually I caught up with them! Thank goodness!
After we picked up Steve we were on our way to the Dome. My knee hurt. It felt stiff, it has been stiff since Superior. I tried not to think about it.
Peg, Curt's wife, dropped us off at the Dome. It was chilly, 50F and windy, but a high of 84 was forecast. Much warmer than we had anticipated.
I had picked up a 350 pace band at the Expo, but really didn't think I could run a 350. I wanted to get in under 430 though. I figured if I could catch the 450 or 4 pace group I'd hang with them and see how I felt. My nagging knee was making me nervous.
10500 of us began the race. Again, I was thinking about too many people, too crowded, too loud, too many bad smells. I was thinking I LOVE TRAILS! I love woods, I love peace and quiet and room to run. My god, it was CROWDED. The guy in back of me kept on running on the back of my shoes. It sucked!
I got over the resentment of 10500 others and tried to navigate myself through the throngs of people. We were backed up and congested. Running the parkways around the lakes was damn near impossible. Miraculously I found the 430 pace group, then the 400 pace group and the 350 group. I hung with the 350's for 16 miles. I had NO knee pain. I couldn't even believe it. The route unclogged and I was able to enjoy myself. So much so, that I decided I hang back a bit. I ran a bit slower and watched the 400 team come along. This was a fun group. I ran with them over the next 10 miles.
Some odd things: I only stopped to pee one time. Usually I make 3-4 stops. I drank at each aid station, I took one E Cap since it was warm, but I didn't begin to swell until AFTER I took the E Cap. Maybe I didn't need it? I didn't take anymore. I consumed 4 Espresso Hammergels and wasn't hungry or headachy or tired or anything.
I had a very enjoyable time. I took in the crowds of spectators, the beautiful landscape. The trees are turning, there was a nice breeze, it was sunny..just beautiful. Once I got past the crowds, I really enjoyed the race.
The last miles along Summit Avenue are fantastic. It runs downhill, you are almost near the end, there are huge mansions with big oaks and maples, turning brilliant orange and red.
Yeah, I loved it.
I was able to get a PR for this course. I've run TCM 6 times; my fastest was 4:09, my PR for a marathon was at Grandmas last year at 359. I finished today in 4:00 right on! I ran like hell the last mile, trying to get a 359, but didn't. And I'm fine with 4:00! More than fine. Exuberant. No knee pain! I wasn't sure what I would be able to do today. I promised myself I'd walk off the course if my knee hurt. It didn't!
Now I feel ready for Ed Fitz 100K. Definitely :) A few more back to back long ones and I'll be there.
THE TWINS WON TODAY AND DETROIT LOST SO YEAH BABY WE WON THE DIVISION!! WOOHOO WHAT A GREAT DAY!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Minnesota Twins!
Yeah Baby! They won in the 10th inning last night! Troy had football until 8 so I missed the first few innings; but the game went on to 10 innings so I was able to watch plenty! Glad I didn't fall asleep..
We have tickets for tonight's game, we'll be at the Dome..to take on Chicago White Sox..Rock On Twins!! Maybe I'll make a Circle Me sign. Or not.
(Thanks for the nudge anon..thought I better post something on the TWINS :)
I'm reading Chi Running. Have you read it yet? I would have liked to take the seminar last Saturday in St. Paul, but instead I was being made into a Princess. It was my day at Juut Salonspa..hair, waxing, massage, etc. It was wonderful. But, I didn't make the seminar on Chi Running. I'm hoping to make an October date.
Last night while running I was practicing my Chi. I'm not very good at it yet, but it is very interesting. I'm practicing posture, the form, the strengthening execises and such. Now I'm looking for Tai' Chi classes in the area. You know, there isn't a whole lot to choose from out here in Big Lake. Looks like I'll have to go a bit south for classes.
Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday! The weather looks good: 50's at start, clear, 60's at finish. I need a 3:50 for Boston but am thinking a nice long training run may be a better plan. I'll see how a 3:50 feels the first few miles and adjust from there.
GO TWINS!
We have tickets for tonight's game, we'll be at the Dome..to take on Chicago White Sox..Rock On Twins!! Maybe I'll make a Circle Me sign. Or not.
(Thanks for the nudge anon..thought I better post something on the TWINS :)
I'm reading Chi Running. Have you read it yet? I would have liked to take the seminar last Saturday in St. Paul, but instead I was being made into a Princess. It was my day at Juut Salonspa..hair, waxing, massage, etc. It was wonderful. But, I didn't make the seminar on Chi Running. I'm hoping to make an October date.
Last night while running I was practicing my Chi. I'm not very good at it yet, but it is very interesting. I'm practicing posture, the form, the strengthening execises and such. Now I'm looking for Tai' Chi classes in the area. You know, there isn't a whole lot to choose from out here in Big Lake. Looks like I'll have to go a bit south for classes.
Twin Cities Marathon on Sunday! The weather looks good: 50's at start, clear, 60's at finish. I need a 3:50 for Boston but am thinking a nice long training run may be a better plan. I'll see how a 3:50 feels the first few miles and adjust from there.
GO TWINS!
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Rest, Recovery, Re-Evaluate and Rehash
Thank you for all of the nice comments you left for me. Who knew a person could find such support online by strangers..and even some of my in person friends left comments. Thanks Bonnie and Dallas!
Phil, I'm sorry about the PF, but you are right. Those 5 mile cliff runs are worth more than the 50 mile trail race. You'll get that one eventually but you don't want to risk the daily runs. They are what will keep you sane.
Olga and Rob, thanks for talking about me during your run on Sunday. I like that! I can't wait to meet you guys in person.
Donna Rae and some of her friends were betting on my finishing time. Donna bet I'd get 30 hours. Thanks for having that confidence in me DR! Sorry you lost the bet!
So my legs are still not working, it looks like I have no knees nor ankles, just a lot of water bloat from the muscle stress I suppose, salt and carb bloat. It will just take time to go down. The blisters are there, I'm wearing my Molaci Montrail slides to work with dress pants. My Principal keeps asking me to race him! Pretty funny, actually.
Steve is out of town for work until Friday so I am not cooking big dinners. I'm resting and reading. Luckily neither boys had practice last night and tonight elections are held so the games were cancelled. More couch time. I and the boys are eating salads with grilled lean meats. It's good for them, too, but they are tiring of it. Maybe I'll cave in and let them have Subway tonight.
I'm rehashing and re-evaluating the race. I'm deciphering what I've learned and planning the future.
Of course I keep thinking I should have tried hobbling to the next aid station, maybe I would have been better in 8 miles. Then I remember I thought that at the previous 3 aid stations and didn't get better.
I think what I could have done in training is more back to back long runs. Long run Saturday followed by a long run on Sunday with lots of walking mixed in to mimick the walking on tired legs for day 2 of the 100. Maybe some night runs on the Superior Hiking Trail. I think for the 50K next year up there in May, I'll run the 50K Saturday and go out and run another 20 on Sunday with lots of walking.
But then..I went and mailed in my Western States application last week. After this DNF, I don't think I would have done that. I probably would have waited a bit or not entered at all yet this year. But maybe there is a reason I applied so early? I don't know.
The Lottery for WS is held the first Saturday in December. If I get in, I'll make my plan there. Do I go for the Grand Slam? A very experienced Slammer is of the opinion I should. He told me each 100 is training for the next and that Wasatch is tough, but mostly mental tough and that he would help me with the mental training. Again, I have until December before I make my plans.
If I do get into WS, Maria had offered to attend the Memorial Weekend training camp with me, and pace me at WS, and Doug offered to crew. Doug may have had enough of crewing after Suuperior! Again, these are just the thoughts careening through my mind and I won't know for months if I need to make any decisions about WS and the GS and these plans were spoke of before Superior.
And should anything change because I DNF'd at Superior?
I learned alot about myself at Superior. I have a dark side. It came out up there. I am still learning about myself as I'm trying to put this whole experience into perspective.
Kerry Owens, who won the woman's race told me after the race 'word out on the trail was that Julie Berg overtrained' Why would people even bother talking about me out there? And talk about my training? I didn't talk about another person's traning out there or there performance. Maybe posting my training here isn't the wisest thing. Or maybe I just don't like critisism relating to my training. I didn't think that would bother me, but it does. I told Kerry I didn't believe over training was a reason for a DNF. I told her I didn't believe in over training. Wouldn't the reason that I didn't finish be because I WASN'T trained enough? She told me that would be her guess. She told me she agreed with me, she believe over training was an excuse people liked to use. I talked to her for a very long time. We went over my training and hers, I'm anxious to speak with her on the telephone soon.
Next run for me is Twin Cities Marathon in a few weeks, October 1. I don't think I'll push it much, this will be a training run for the Ed Fitz 100K a few weeks later. I love Ed Fitz. It's a relay and a solo ultra. Not many enter the ultra but there are many teams that participate. My Big Lake Run Club is going to have 2 teams. Fun Fun. I have posted a race report from last years Ed Fitz on the side bar. Lots of fun.
Originally I wanted to run TCM in 3:45 to qualify for Boston. I have the speed work in and all, but don't think after Superior I'll have the push. We'll see. Play it by ear I guess.
So that is where I am today. Who knows where I'll be tomorrow..
Phil, I'm sorry about the PF, but you are right. Those 5 mile cliff runs are worth more than the 50 mile trail race. You'll get that one eventually but you don't want to risk the daily runs. They are what will keep you sane.
Olga and Rob, thanks for talking about me during your run on Sunday. I like that! I can't wait to meet you guys in person.
Donna Rae and some of her friends were betting on my finishing time. Donna bet I'd get 30 hours. Thanks for having that confidence in me DR! Sorry you lost the bet!
So my legs are still not working, it looks like I have no knees nor ankles, just a lot of water bloat from the muscle stress I suppose, salt and carb bloat. It will just take time to go down. The blisters are there, I'm wearing my Molaci Montrail slides to work with dress pants. My Principal keeps asking me to race him! Pretty funny, actually.
Steve is out of town for work until Friday so I am not cooking big dinners. I'm resting and reading. Luckily neither boys had practice last night and tonight elections are held so the games were cancelled. More couch time. I and the boys are eating salads with grilled lean meats. It's good for them, too, but they are tiring of it. Maybe I'll cave in and let them have Subway tonight.
I'm rehashing and re-evaluating the race. I'm deciphering what I've learned and planning the future.
Of course I keep thinking I should have tried hobbling to the next aid station, maybe I would have been better in 8 miles. Then I remember I thought that at the previous 3 aid stations and didn't get better.
I think what I could have done in training is more back to back long runs. Long run Saturday followed by a long run on Sunday with lots of walking mixed in to mimick the walking on tired legs for day 2 of the 100. Maybe some night runs on the Superior Hiking Trail. I think for the 50K next year up there in May, I'll run the 50K Saturday and go out and run another 20 on Sunday with lots of walking.
But then..I went and mailed in my Western States application last week. After this DNF, I don't think I would have done that. I probably would have waited a bit or not entered at all yet this year. But maybe there is a reason I applied so early? I don't know.
The Lottery for WS is held the first Saturday in December. If I get in, I'll make my plan there. Do I go for the Grand Slam? A very experienced Slammer is of the opinion I should. He told me each 100 is training for the next and that Wasatch is tough, but mostly mental tough and that he would help me with the mental training. Again, I have until December before I make my plans.
If I do get into WS, Maria had offered to attend the Memorial Weekend training camp with me, and pace me at WS, and Doug offered to crew. Doug may have had enough of crewing after Suuperior! Again, these are just the thoughts careening through my mind and I won't know for months if I need to make any decisions about WS and the GS and these plans were spoke of before Superior.
And should anything change because I DNF'd at Superior?
I learned alot about myself at Superior. I have a dark side. It came out up there. I am still learning about myself as I'm trying to put this whole experience into perspective.
Kerry Owens, who won the woman's race told me after the race 'word out on the trail was that Julie Berg overtrained' Why would people even bother talking about me out there? And talk about my training? I didn't talk about another person's traning out there or there performance. Maybe posting my training here isn't the wisest thing. Or maybe I just don't like critisism relating to my training. I didn't think that would bother me, but it does. I told Kerry I didn't believe over training was a reason for a DNF. I told her I didn't believe in over training. Wouldn't the reason that I didn't finish be because I WASN'T trained enough? She told me that would be her guess. She told me she agreed with me, she believe over training was an excuse people liked to use. I talked to her for a very long time. We went over my training and hers, I'm anxious to speak with her on the telephone soon.
Next run for me is Twin Cities Marathon in a few weeks, October 1. I don't think I'll push it much, this will be a training run for the Ed Fitz 100K a few weeks later. I love Ed Fitz. It's a relay and a solo ultra. Not many enter the ultra but there are many teams that participate. My Big Lake Run Club is going to have 2 teams. Fun Fun. I have posted a race report from last years Ed Fitz on the side bar. Lots of fun.
Originally I wanted to run TCM in 3:45 to qualify for Boston. I have the speed work in and all, but don't think after Superior I'll have the push. We'll see. Play it by ear I guess.
So that is where I am today. Who knows where I'll be tomorrow..
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Race Report
I didn't realize how nervous I was until I left all four of my drop bags and home, after I had left, for Lutsen. I had decided to return home, as I left my vitamins and hair conditioner behind. I walked into the laundry room, and there were my drop bags. Oh. No!
Thursday night was wonderful. I met Doug and Maria at their lodge cabin to head over to Two Harbors for Larry's race briefing and pasta dinner. It was so great to meet the other 30 runners, eat pasta, breadsticks and salad and see the awesome swag for completing the race. A Brooks red jacket and belt buckle that had color, plus all race entrants received a very nice tshirt.
Larry told us that because the group was small and intimate, he'd like to do something he used to do at his earlier races. I am thinking 'what the hell is he going to have us do?'. He had each racer get up and introduce themselves, then state a bit of their running background. It was a real nice ice breaker, a way to put faces to names and a great introduction.
Back to Lutsen, I phoned phone to check on the boys' football games and then headed to sleep. I actually slept very well, only waking a few times to make sure it wasn't 5 AM. The race began at 8 AM so we had plenty of rest time.
Doug and Maria picked me up at 6 and off to Gooseberry Falls we went for the start. It was cool and misty, but not raining. The forecast was getting better each day with only 20% chance or rain during the race but very cold. Lows in the low 30's for Friday night. I was glad I had my winter clothing packed in a drop bag.
We had a good hour to mill around, go to the bathroom too many times, visit and take pictures. Then it was show time. We were off at 8:00.
Even though I and Maria had been training on the Superior Hiking Trail together quite a bit, we never made a commitment to run the race with one another. That's a tough commitment for me to make. I was very pleased though when it became apparent that we were going to run this race at the same pace as our training runs.
We ran together for 65 or so miles!
The first aid stations were spaced far apart. 9.9 miles, 10.1 miles, long hauls without food. The trail is so primitive that car access isn't available in many areas. The aid/supplies for station 1 had to be hauled in by the volunteers. You would have never known that, they had everything very well stocked.
I saw Don Clark, a mentor of sorts to me, a very experienced ultra runner. I was so excited. I gave him a big hug and said "it's here Don, the race is finally here." I was super stoked. Had my 3 bottles filled with Hammer Heed, grabbed a sandwich and a Salted Nut Roll to put in my shorts for later and headed for aid station 2.
The trail is relentless up and down, rocky and rooty and just plain old damn tough. But beautiful. So very beautiful. We covered the rocky section that I hated most of all sections during the training, but while picking our way through it this time it didn't seem so bad. It was raining last time I ran through it, that is probably why.
Maria and I picked up two other runners that we ended up running most of the race with: Jerry from Missouri, it was his 51 Bday, and his 4th attempt at Superior. He had 1 finish but got his second yesterday in 31 hours! Awesome. Also, Stuart from Kansas City was with us, he was attempting his 10th finish!! 10th! He got it too. Amazing!
We made a train through the woods, running, talking, just enjoying each others company. I felt very lucky to be running with some experienced runners.
Darkness fell upon us, we turned on our lights and man, it was a whole different race. Maria asked if all the roots and rocks would go recess into the ground now that the sun went down. I wish!
We reached 50 miles only 40 minutes faster than our training time. I don't think we ran any faster, I think our aid station time was less. We were very pleased with our pace.
Larry had told me that a section near Sonju Lake was what he thought the worse section would be. Now I agree. We ran - no walked - through it in the dark. It is a low cedar tree area, just full of millions of tree roots. Some spots I couldn't find foot placement, so walked upon the roots and could feel my blisters on the bottom of my foot pop.
Yeah. The blisters were back, with a vegenance. They made up for the lost time, when I didn't receive any from Superior 50K through Voyageur 50 Mile. My feet are raw on the bottom and a few toes.
There were miles of this cedar tree root crap. We just kept plugging along. We noticed that we were all feeling tight in the shoulders/neck and realized it was from looking down at our feet so intensely, and holding the light downward to see. You couldn't stretch out while walking or you would go down immediately. Stop to stretch. Stop to take a drink from my bottle as my head had to tilt back and I couldn't see the roots. Crazy. I would love to watch the winners go through this area. I know they go a lot quicker than we did! It would be great to see how they do it.
Eventually we made our way through and man did it get cold! We were told by Mike and Shelly at an aid station that Larry went through at 11 PM and said it was 36F. We saw Mike and Shelly after midnight and I think it was cooler than that by then!
I put on long pants, another jacket, gloves and a hat. I was still freezing! At another aid station I grabbed a pair of my socks and put them over my hands but was still shaking uncontrollably. This made me so angry. I was afraid I'd become hypothermic due to my own stupidity of not packing enough warm clothing.
During the walking of the night time hours, Chris and Bob hooked up with us. Chris led our merry train of runners through one section, telling us rhymes such. It was a lot of fun. We now had a train of 6-8 runners. It was wonderful not going through the night alone, one of my fears before the race began.
The walking and cold took it's toll on my legs. I was thinking that maybe all of the walking would restful, that went the sun came up I'd feel well rested. Not. I felt worse. The back of my knees became sore; something I'd never felt before. Then I could feel that pain extend into my hamstrings and down into my calves. I tried stretching at each aid station and I just wasn't loosening up.
I and Maria stopped to pee and our train went up ahead. I and Maria were slowing. Chris was still leading us, but she was waiting for us to catch up quite a bit. As we came into the next aid station our train was just leaving. I knew we were in trouble. I re-lubbed up my painful feet. A heel blister popped so I salved up that, the arches were popping. I didn't look very closely. There was nothing I could do about it. I tried stretching out and my legs were like cement.
Bob switched with Chris and headed out with I and Maria. We had the Manitou River crossing ahead of us. It was still dark, we would be crossing in the darkness, in the water as the bridge had been removed for replacement the week prior and no new bridge was yet constructed.
Bob and Maria were moving better than I. I was taking mincing steps, 2 inches in stride, moving from my hips as my knees would no longer bend and my calves and hamstrings were cement. Shit. I've never felt this before! Go away pain! The blisters I can handle, this I was having a hard time with.
Bob felt concerned about leaving me in the dark. He came back to me and explained that he was there to pace Maria, that he told her he would get her through months ago. I knew that. I was lucky to have had Maria most of the race. I told him I totally understood, please don't feel responsible for me. He was so sweet. As they left me he would yell out : 'See my light, you take a hard right at the bottom of the curve' It was very nice of him.
It was dark. Total darkness. Lucky for me it was about 430 AM so I knew daylight would be coming soon. Thank god. It took me forever and a day to get to the river.
I came to the river crossing and there was a guy there to help me out. He took my hand and guide me across the dry rocks. But I couldn't bend my knees. He did a good job for me and I feel into the river anyway, hitting my head on a rock. Shit. Maybe it'd knock the leg pain away? Not so. He apologized, I apologized, told him it certainly wasn't his fault!! Thanks and I'm on my way..
As I was going up the relentless climb out of the river I saw Bob and Maria. They didn't see any markers so thought maybe they went the wrong way. Maria was sure they must have taken a wrong turn. I was too tired to worry about it. I heard Bob say that he thought they were on track so I just kept on trucking. Bob once led me out of Superior 50 mile through the dark. I would have never made it without him. I'll do whatever he says!
I followed Maria and Bob for a while, then took some more Advil, even though not even 4 hours had passed, and felt some pain in my legs subside. I was able to shuffle a bit, so went out in front and didn't see them again. The sun came up so at least I could see where the hell I was going. I wished my energy would come up too. Not to happen.
As I came across Caribou river I could smell pancakes from the aid station. They smelled good, but then my stomach turned as I though about eating them. I puked. I've never been sick during a race. Great. Just what I need. I'm finally shuffling and now I'm barfing and I'm doing the frankenstine walk again. Damn.
When I got into the aid station the pancakes still looked good so I had one, and it wasn't a good thing to do...
The next aid station was another 2.5 miles. I tried to shuffle but was reduced to walking with my hips, straight legged. I couldn't get down hills, I had to drop onto my butt and scooch down the rocky hills. I was trying to figure out how long I could do this.
I came into the next aid station, with a shuffle, I didn't want them to see my gait. I put some lube on one foot, I couldn't get the other shoe off, my foot was too swollen and sore of the blister fiasco. A very kind woman gave me a peanut butter sandwich in a baggie and I was on my way. I forced out a shuffle, a smile and laugh and hobbled across the road. 6 miles to Cramer Road.
Longest 6 miles of my life. I went 1.5 miles in 1 hour. I was on my butt scooching down the rocky hills when a woman out for a trail hike found me. She was very worried about me, asked if I had broken my leg, I tried explaining what I was doing..she couldn't figure out why I was trying to RUN a 100 mile race and I just gave up. She asked if she could help, I told her no and continued to scooch down the hill. Joe Lovett came across me next. He had DNF'd at Superior 100 last year and was out for retribution. He looked great, he passed me like I was standing still. Oh, I was! He finished too!
Eventually the sweeps, Don Clark and his son Joe, came upon me. Apparently Don had been behind me for a while, watching and assessing my condition. He helped me to stretch and told me I had to decide what I was going to do about continuing this race before the next aid station. I couldn't believe I was contemplating dropping from the race. I had never ever ever thought that I would quit. Until the last few hours, it was all I was thinking about. Was I going to be able to resurrect myself? Would my legs get energy back? This was one of the three 100's that I wanted to do this year. Was I willing to give up that goal? I put on my sunglasses and tried to cry quietly and I was thinking out all of these thoughts. God, I was a failure!! I didn't have the mental strength to push my broken body through another 23 miles. Could I do this walk thing for another 23 miles? I figured this race may take me the whole 38 hours but never did I think I would drop.
I did. 77 miles in. It took so long for me to get to the next aid station, I was dead last and I was dead. My legs had given out on me. Maria had dropped a few aid stations before. Shit pie. 1.5 miles an hour was not going to get me to the finish. Would it get better?
Neither of us finished.
It's the hardest decision I have made. But it was the right one. I was afraid I'd injure my knees, calves or hamstrings and not be able to run again. What if I couldn't go for the 5 mile runs with Topaz each day? That's what I love. That's what I love more than a finish of a hundred mile race. I love to run. I couldn't let Superior stop that. Or, is that a cop out I kept asking? I didn't know. I still don't.
It was awful to come into the aid station where many of my friends working the station were at. John, Alicia, Maynard, Rick, Linda, Bonnie; they were all there. I was done. I was stunned. This race beat me.
There was another guy there, from Minneapolis, that dropped as well. Rick and Don and Joe drove us back to the hotel. We felt like we were going to a funeral.
Back at the hotel I collapsed in my room. I couldn't move. I pulled myself to the shower and tried to clean up. Everything ached. I was afraid I pulled everything in my legs. They are dead.
I sat out at the finish line and watched the runners come in from the marathon and 50 mile and then later in the evening, the 100 miles. It was wonderful to see them cross the finish line.
Kudos to Al Holtz - who just ran CCC 100 two weeks ago! He was in our train for a while and he finished in fine form. And Kathy Weix, who only decided at the pasta dinner to run the 100-she finished too.
I spoke with the winner woman, Kerry Owens, from Washinton, DC. She ran Massanutten and came in third there. She told me Superior was more difficult that Massanutten. The winner male finished in 21. He won Massanutten in 20 hours. Amazing. It was wonderful to watch everyone finish the race.
I think 34 were entered and roughly 18 finished the race. I was getting too cold to watch the last finishers come in but I was there in spirit!
As I was packing my stuff this morning I began to wonder how in the world I was going to get my stuff up three flights of stairs to my car. I put everything out in the hallway and began the trek. Much to my delight, Scott and John appeared. John carried all of my stuff to the car. And I sobbed on Scott's shoulder. I couldn't help it. He gave me a hug and all of my emotions came pouring out. How embarassing.
This morning we all gathered at Betty's Pies for breakfast. I saw Kathy and began to cry. Again. I'm way to emotional about this. I was so happy for her, so had happy tears for her, and so sad that I didn't finish. She was just kind and began to cry and said she was so sorry I didn't finish. She has 6 100 finishes now.
I had a difficult time driving home. I needed to use my hands to move my leg to press upon the gas or break. My knees still don't want to bend. It's not all bad though. I have to take this as a learning experience and turn the negative into a positive.
I need to rest, regroup and lick my wounds. I'll be fine. It isn't everything. But damn, it's much better to feel this pain when there are buckles and finishing jackets in the mix!!
And next year..I'll finish that race!
Thursday night was wonderful. I met Doug and Maria at their lodge cabin to head over to Two Harbors for Larry's race briefing and pasta dinner. It was so great to meet the other 30 runners, eat pasta, breadsticks and salad and see the awesome swag for completing the race. A Brooks red jacket and belt buckle that had color, plus all race entrants received a very nice tshirt.
Larry told us that because the group was small and intimate, he'd like to do something he used to do at his earlier races. I am thinking 'what the hell is he going to have us do?'. He had each racer get up and introduce themselves, then state a bit of their running background. It was a real nice ice breaker, a way to put faces to names and a great introduction.
Back to Lutsen, I phoned phone to check on the boys' football games and then headed to sleep. I actually slept very well, only waking a few times to make sure it wasn't 5 AM. The race began at 8 AM so we had plenty of rest time.
Doug and Maria picked me up at 6 and off to Gooseberry Falls we went for the start. It was cool and misty, but not raining. The forecast was getting better each day with only 20% chance or rain during the race but very cold. Lows in the low 30's for Friday night. I was glad I had my winter clothing packed in a drop bag.
We had a good hour to mill around, go to the bathroom too many times, visit and take pictures. Then it was show time. We were off at 8:00.
Even though I and Maria had been training on the Superior Hiking Trail together quite a bit, we never made a commitment to run the race with one another. That's a tough commitment for me to make. I was very pleased though when it became apparent that we were going to run this race at the same pace as our training runs.
We ran together for 65 or so miles!
The first aid stations were spaced far apart. 9.9 miles, 10.1 miles, long hauls without food. The trail is so primitive that car access isn't available in many areas. The aid/supplies for station 1 had to be hauled in by the volunteers. You would have never known that, they had everything very well stocked.
I saw Don Clark, a mentor of sorts to me, a very experienced ultra runner. I was so excited. I gave him a big hug and said "it's here Don, the race is finally here." I was super stoked. Had my 3 bottles filled with Hammer Heed, grabbed a sandwich and a Salted Nut Roll to put in my shorts for later and headed for aid station 2.
The trail is relentless up and down, rocky and rooty and just plain old damn tough. But beautiful. So very beautiful. We covered the rocky section that I hated most of all sections during the training, but while picking our way through it this time it didn't seem so bad. It was raining last time I ran through it, that is probably why.
Maria and I picked up two other runners that we ended up running most of the race with: Jerry from Missouri, it was his 51 Bday, and his 4th attempt at Superior. He had 1 finish but got his second yesterday in 31 hours! Awesome. Also, Stuart from Kansas City was with us, he was attempting his 10th finish!! 10th! He got it too. Amazing!
We made a train through the woods, running, talking, just enjoying each others company. I felt very lucky to be running with some experienced runners.
Darkness fell upon us, we turned on our lights and man, it was a whole different race. Maria asked if all the roots and rocks would go recess into the ground now that the sun went down. I wish!
We reached 50 miles only 40 minutes faster than our training time. I don't think we ran any faster, I think our aid station time was less. We were very pleased with our pace.
Larry had told me that a section near Sonju Lake was what he thought the worse section would be. Now I agree. We ran - no walked - through it in the dark. It is a low cedar tree area, just full of millions of tree roots. Some spots I couldn't find foot placement, so walked upon the roots and could feel my blisters on the bottom of my foot pop.
Yeah. The blisters were back, with a vegenance. They made up for the lost time, when I didn't receive any from Superior 50K through Voyageur 50 Mile. My feet are raw on the bottom and a few toes.
There were miles of this cedar tree root crap. We just kept plugging along. We noticed that we were all feeling tight in the shoulders/neck and realized it was from looking down at our feet so intensely, and holding the light downward to see. You couldn't stretch out while walking or you would go down immediately. Stop to stretch. Stop to take a drink from my bottle as my head had to tilt back and I couldn't see the roots. Crazy. I would love to watch the winners go through this area. I know they go a lot quicker than we did! It would be great to see how they do it.
Eventually we made our way through and man did it get cold! We were told by Mike and Shelly at an aid station that Larry went through at 11 PM and said it was 36F. We saw Mike and Shelly after midnight and I think it was cooler than that by then!
I put on long pants, another jacket, gloves and a hat. I was still freezing! At another aid station I grabbed a pair of my socks and put them over my hands but was still shaking uncontrollably. This made me so angry. I was afraid I'd become hypothermic due to my own stupidity of not packing enough warm clothing.
During the walking of the night time hours, Chris and Bob hooked up with us. Chris led our merry train of runners through one section, telling us rhymes such. It was a lot of fun. We now had a train of 6-8 runners. It was wonderful not going through the night alone, one of my fears before the race began.
The walking and cold took it's toll on my legs. I was thinking that maybe all of the walking would restful, that went the sun came up I'd feel well rested. Not. I felt worse. The back of my knees became sore; something I'd never felt before. Then I could feel that pain extend into my hamstrings and down into my calves. I tried stretching at each aid station and I just wasn't loosening up.
I and Maria stopped to pee and our train went up ahead. I and Maria were slowing. Chris was still leading us, but she was waiting for us to catch up quite a bit. As we came into the next aid station our train was just leaving. I knew we were in trouble. I re-lubbed up my painful feet. A heel blister popped so I salved up that, the arches were popping. I didn't look very closely. There was nothing I could do about it. I tried stretching out and my legs were like cement.
Bob switched with Chris and headed out with I and Maria. We had the Manitou River crossing ahead of us. It was still dark, we would be crossing in the darkness, in the water as the bridge had been removed for replacement the week prior and no new bridge was yet constructed.
Bob and Maria were moving better than I. I was taking mincing steps, 2 inches in stride, moving from my hips as my knees would no longer bend and my calves and hamstrings were cement. Shit. I've never felt this before! Go away pain! The blisters I can handle, this I was having a hard time with.
Bob felt concerned about leaving me in the dark. He came back to me and explained that he was there to pace Maria, that he told her he would get her through months ago. I knew that. I was lucky to have had Maria most of the race. I told him I totally understood, please don't feel responsible for me. He was so sweet. As they left me he would yell out : 'See my light, you take a hard right at the bottom of the curve' It was very nice of him.
It was dark. Total darkness. Lucky for me it was about 430 AM so I knew daylight would be coming soon. Thank god. It took me forever and a day to get to the river.
I came to the river crossing and there was a guy there to help me out. He took my hand and guide me across the dry rocks. But I couldn't bend my knees. He did a good job for me and I feel into the river anyway, hitting my head on a rock. Shit. Maybe it'd knock the leg pain away? Not so. He apologized, I apologized, told him it certainly wasn't his fault!! Thanks and I'm on my way..
As I was going up the relentless climb out of the river I saw Bob and Maria. They didn't see any markers so thought maybe they went the wrong way. Maria was sure they must have taken a wrong turn. I was too tired to worry about it. I heard Bob say that he thought they were on track so I just kept on trucking. Bob once led me out of Superior 50 mile through the dark. I would have never made it without him. I'll do whatever he says!
I followed Maria and Bob for a while, then took some more Advil, even though not even 4 hours had passed, and felt some pain in my legs subside. I was able to shuffle a bit, so went out in front and didn't see them again. The sun came up so at least I could see where the hell I was going. I wished my energy would come up too. Not to happen.
As I came across Caribou river I could smell pancakes from the aid station. They smelled good, but then my stomach turned as I though about eating them. I puked. I've never been sick during a race. Great. Just what I need. I'm finally shuffling and now I'm barfing and I'm doing the frankenstine walk again. Damn.
When I got into the aid station the pancakes still looked good so I had one, and it wasn't a good thing to do...
The next aid station was another 2.5 miles. I tried to shuffle but was reduced to walking with my hips, straight legged. I couldn't get down hills, I had to drop onto my butt and scooch down the rocky hills. I was trying to figure out how long I could do this.
I came into the next aid station, with a shuffle, I didn't want them to see my gait. I put some lube on one foot, I couldn't get the other shoe off, my foot was too swollen and sore of the blister fiasco. A very kind woman gave me a peanut butter sandwich in a baggie and I was on my way. I forced out a shuffle, a smile and laugh and hobbled across the road. 6 miles to Cramer Road.
Longest 6 miles of my life. I went 1.5 miles in 1 hour. I was on my butt scooching down the rocky hills when a woman out for a trail hike found me. She was very worried about me, asked if I had broken my leg, I tried explaining what I was doing..she couldn't figure out why I was trying to RUN a 100 mile race and I just gave up. She asked if she could help, I told her no and continued to scooch down the hill. Joe Lovett came across me next. He had DNF'd at Superior 100 last year and was out for retribution. He looked great, he passed me like I was standing still. Oh, I was! He finished too!
Eventually the sweeps, Don Clark and his son Joe, came upon me. Apparently Don had been behind me for a while, watching and assessing my condition. He helped me to stretch and told me I had to decide what I was going to do about continuing this race before the next aid station. I couldn't believe I was contemplating dropping from the race. I had never ever ever thought that I would quit. Until the last few hours, it was all I was thinking about. Was I going to be able to resurrect myself? Would my legs get energy back? This was one of the three 100's that I wanted to do this year. Was I willing to give up that goal? I put on my sunglasses and tried to cry quietly and I was thinking out all of these thoughts. God, I was a failure!! I didn't have the mental strength to push my broken body through another 23 miles. Could I do this walk thing for another 23 miles? I figured this race may take me the whole 38 hours but never did I think I would drop.
I did. 77 miles in. It took so long for me to get to the next aid station, I was dead last and I was dead. My legs had given out on me. Maria had dropped a few aid stations before. Shit pie. 1.5 miles an hour was not going to get me to the finish. Would it get better?
Neither of us finished.
It's the hardest decision I have made. But it was the right one. I was afraid I'd injure my knees, calves or hamstrings and not be able to run again. What if I couldn't go for the 5 mile runs with Topaz each day? That's what I love. That's what I love more than a finish of a hundred mile race. I love to run. I couldn't let Superior stop that. Or, is that a cop out I kept asking? I didn't know. I still don't.
It was awful to come into the aid station where many of my friends working the station were at. John, Alicia, Maynard, Rick, Linda, Bonnie; they were all there. I was done. I was stunned. This race beat me.
There was another guy there, from Minneapolis, that dropped as well. Rick and Don and Joe drove us back to the hotel. We felt like we were going to a funeral.
Back at the hotel I collapsed in my room. I couldn't move. I pulled myself to the shower and tried to clean up. Everything ached. I was afraid I pulled everything in my legs. They are dead.
I sat out at the finish line and watched the runners come in from the marathon and 50 mile and then later in the evening, the 100 miles. It was wonderful to see them cross the finish line.
Kudos to Al Holtz - who just ran CCC 100 two weeks ago! He was in our train for a while and he finished in fine form. And Kathy Weix, who only decided at the pasta dinner to run the 100-she finished too.
I spoke with the winner woman, Kerry Owens, from Washinton, DC. She ran Massanutten and came in third there. She told me Superior was more difficult that Massanutten. The winner male finished in 21. He won Massanutten in 20 hours. Amazing. It was wonderful to watch everyone finish the race.
I think 34 were entered and roughly 18 finished the race. I was getting too cold to watch the last finishers come in but I was there in spirit!
As I was packing my stuff this morning I began to wonder how in the world I was going to get my stuff up three flights of stairs to my car. I put everything out in the hallway and began the trek. Much to my delight, Scott and John appeared. John carried all of my stuff to the car. And I sobbed on Scott's shoulder. I couldn't help it. He gave me a hug and all of my emotions came pouring out. How embarassing.
This morning we all gathered at Betty's Pies for breakfast. I saw Kathy and began to cry. Again. I'm way to emotional about this. I was so happy for her, so had happy tears for her, and so sad that I didn't finish. She was just kind and began to cry and said she was so sorry I didn't finish. She has 6 100 finishes now.
I had a difficult time driving home. I needed to use my hands to move my leg to press upon the gas or break. My knees still don't want to bend. It's not all bad though. I have to take this as a learning experience and turn the negative into a positive.
I need to rest, regroup and lick my wounds. I'll be fine. It isn't everything. But damn, it's much better to feel this pain when there are buckles and finishing jackets in the mix!!
And next year..I'll finish that race!
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Superior Sawtooth 100 Preparations
I have my pace chart created. I took my 50 mile training run mid July, which was the first 50 miles of the race ..that pace was 18:51 per mile, including the very long aid station breaks. I used this pace for a 32 hour finish. I hope to stay on track at this pace for the hours 8AM to 8PM. Then I figured out a 35 hour pace; based on a 20:50 minute mile. This takes into account night time slowness. I'm hoping when daylight breaks on Saturday morning that I am on a 35 hour pace. At least I would have a bit of cushion to finish then. BUT, I also have a 38 hour pace chart which is the last chance at a finish. It is based on a 22:25 minute mile. I'm fine with being here on Saturday. But Friday I really want the 32. I will strive for the 32.
My best case GOAL scenario is to finish in 35 hours. I'd love a 35 hour finish. Second goal is to finish. 38 hours. MAN, that is a loooonnnngggg time. Yeah, I must finish this. I will try my hardest, I'll try with all that I have. I will not quit, I may be pulled, but I will not quit.
I've figured my drop bags based on the three charts. I'll have 5 bags with clothing, foot potion, extra shoes, jackets, rain ponchos, bandanas, hat, advil, S Caps, flashlights..all strategically placed at the earliest point I may need them. For instance, there is NO drop bag access at Tettegouche Aid Station-mile 34.2; which I will hopefully reach at 6:33 PM, when I would like to pick up lights. BUT there is an AS at mile 24.3; Silver Bay, which I may reach (earliest) at 3:29 PM. I'll have to carry flashlights at that point to night fall. If I'm earlier than 329 I'll be carrying lights forever before I finally need them. I'll wear Race Ready shorts with many pockets so I can stuff things into them. They will be heavy with stuff and falling from my waist.
I'll have a drop bag at 58 miles-Sounju Lake-with shoes, socks and foot potion IN CASE I have foot problems. If i don't, I'll just move on. I'll have an empty drop bag at first light in the AM aid station to drop off my lights into. I'll have another lights bag at Sawbill just in case I'm running the 38 hour pace and will be finishing in the dark. Could happen. I'll be prepared.
I am SO excited that Larry is starting the 100 on Friday at 8 AM, so that the marathoners could still be on the course, and the 50 milers will still be on the course as we run the last sections of the race, maybe together. That will give me something wonderful to look forward to. Many of my friends are running the marathon or 50.
I ordered an iPod battery attachment for my iPod. It should arrive today, so I haven't tried it out yet. It is supposed to charge the iPod while the iPod battery is getting low. Supposedly it will add another 12-15 hour charge; just what I'll need! I'm thinking I'll listen to music during the daylight hours and will just carry the iPod throughout the race. Did I mention that I finally figured out the freeze problem I was having with it? Yeah, I needed to learn to re-set. I learned, thanks to the help from my cyber friends.
I'll carry a two water bottle pack in addition to a hand held bottle. There are sections 6-10 miles without aid stations so 70+ ounces is needed. I find that I drink 24 oz an hour, whether hot or cold. I'll have two ultimate direction little packs attached to my waist belt for my iPod if it rains, and my camera. I'll have some foot potion, advil and S caps, some hammergel, back up batteries for lights, some toilet paper for the start.
It will be light at the start so I won't need lights. I don't know if I'll need a jacket. I hope it isn't raining, but probably will be. I'm prepared.
I'll place velcro on all of my shoes in drop bags so that I can use my gaitors.
Cliff, the course is point to point. No loops. That's why I need to place drop bags all over the place.
I have the Fenix 1 and 2 handhelds along with a headlamp that is a 12 LED, I'll look like a freight train coming through the woods.
Dallas, thanks for the tips. Light is good.
What else? I need to figure out the boys schedule. Tyler and Troy both have school Thursday and Friday, along with football practices. Steve leaves the house at 4 AM and returns and 7 PM normally. He is thinking of taking Friday off to be Mom, and I will get the boys off to school on Thursday before I leave for Lutsen. Thursday practices are up in the air. I'd think some parents could help out with rides Thursday night.
The pre-race dinner is at 5 in Two Harbors. I'll be there for sure. That will mark the beginning of the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run festivities.
I'll enjoy. I'll enjoy the time in the woods, reflecting on me, my life, the beauty that nature provides. It will be awesome.
I'm looking forward to the race. It is another something that I said I would never do. I'm going to enjoy feeling my body move through the woods, enjoy the nightime adventure, maybe see the Northern Lights, enjoy the whole race..immensely...and make it to the finish line.
I'm excited!
My best case GOAL scenario is to finish in 35 hours. I'd love a 35 hour finish. Second goal is to finish. 38 hours. MAN, that is a loooonnnngggg time. Yeah, I must finish this. I will try my hardest, I'll try with all that I have. I will not quit, I may be pulled, but I will not quit.
I've figured my drop bags based on the three charts. I'll have 5 bags with clothing, foot potion, extra shoes, jackets, rain ponchos, bandanas, hat, advil, S Caps, flashlights..all strategically placed at the earliest point I may need them. For instance, there is NO drop bag access at Tettegouche Aid Station-mile 34.2; which I will hopefully reach at 6:33 PM, when I would like to pick up lights. BUT there is an AS at mile 24.3; Silver Bay, which I may reach (earliest) at 3:29 PM. I'll have to carry flashlights at that point to night fall. If I'm earlier than 329 I'll be carrying lights forever before I finally need them. I'll wear Race Ready shorts with many pockets so I can stuff things into them. They will be heavy with stuff and falling from my waist.
I'll have a drop bag at 58 miles-Sounju Lake-with shoes, socks and foot potion IN CASE I have foot problems. If i don't, I'll just move on. I'll have an empty drop bag at first light in the AM aid station to drop off my lights into. I'll have another lights bag at Sawbill just in case I'm running the 38 hour pace and will be finishing in the dark. Could happen. I'll be prepared.
I am SO excited that Larry is starting the 100 on Friday at 8 AM, so that the marathoners could still be on the course, and the 50 milers will still be on the course as we run the last sections of the race, maybe together. That will give me something wonderful to look forward to. Many of my friends are running the marathon or 50.
I ordered an iPod battery attachment for my iPod. It should arrive today, so I haven't tried it out yet. It is supposed to charge the iPod while the iPod battery is getting low. Supposedly it will add another 12-15 hour charge; just what I'll need! I'm thinking I'll listen to music during the daylight hours and will just carry the iPod throughout the race. Did I mention that I finally figured out the freeze problem I was having with it? Yeah, I needed to learn to re-set. I learned, thanks to the help from my cyber friends.
I'll carry a two water bottle pack in addition to a hand held bottle. There are sections 6-10 miles without aid stations so 70+ ounces is needed. I find that I drink 24 oz an hour, whether hot or cold. I'll have two ultimate direction little packs attached to my waist belt for my iPod if it rains, and my camera. I'll have some foot potion, advil and S caps, some hammergel, back up batteries for lights, some toilet paper for the start.
It will be light at the start so I won't need lights. I don't know if I'll need a jacket. I hope it isn't raining, but probably will be. I'm prepared.
I'll place velcro on all of my shoes in drop bags so that I can use my gaitors.
Cliff, the course is point to point. No loops. That's why I need to place drop bags all over the place.
I have the Fenix 1 and 2 handhelds along with a headlamp that is a 12 LED, I'll look like a freight train coming through the woods.
Dallas, thanks for the tips. Light is good.
What else? I need to figure out the boys schedule. Tyler and Troy both have school Thursday and Friday, along with football practices. Steve leaves the house at 4 AM and returns and 7 PM normally. He is thinking of taking Friday off to be Mom, and I will get the boys off to school on Thursday before I leave for Lutsen. Thursday practices are up in the air. I'd think some parents could help out with rides Thursday night.
The pre-race dinner is at 5 in Two Harbors. I'll be there for sure. That will mark the beginning of the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run festivities.
I'll enjoy. I'll enjoy the time in the woods, reflecting on me, my life, the beauty that nature provides. It will be awesome.
I'm looking forward to the race. It is another something that I said I would never do. I'm going to enjoy feeling my body move through the woods, enjoy the nightime adventure, maybe see the Northern Lights, enjoy the whole race..immensely...and make it to the finish line.
I'm excited!
TAPE(R) a FOUR (FIVE) LETTER WORD
Yeah. Tapering. You'd think it would be a nice break, you know, easing back on mileage and weight training. Not. Makes my schedule too open, too much time on my hands (to .. eat?) sluggish and what not. I don't care for it. At All.
Instead of 800's last night I brought Troy to football practice and ran the run club route..then realized it was a mile away from where we usually start so actually ran 7 miles. Oh well. They were easy slow miles. Not the killer 800's, so I figure that was worthy of the name taper.
Because I have to work the Open House at the High School tonight from 5-730 I was able to come in late, at 930 today. Since I'll be missing run club tonight, I and Topaz hit the trail at 7 AM. It was awesome to sleep in until 6 and make Troy and Tyler pancakes before heading out. Yeah, we all are early to bed and early to rise.
It was incredibly foggy this morning. While I was running I couldn't even see Topaz up ahead of me. As we were nearing the river I could hear a coyote barking and howling. I don't know if we suprised him because of the fog-does fog mask the sense of smell? Usually the coyotes smell Topaz and I, and leave us alone. Anyhow, Topaz ran up on him and thought he needed to be herded. Oh man. I couldn't see through the fog, couldn't see the coyote but certainly heard that he was near. Topaz's hair on his back stood on end and he did his herding stance. On all four, crawling toward the coyote, giving him the Border Collie stare. The coyote wouldn't budge. He was howling and barking up a storm. Finally I saw the coyote ran off, Topaz after him and I don't know what happened from there. Topaz eventually came back, panting hard, but fine.
Nice way to start the day...
Instead of 800's last night I brought Troy to football practice and ran the run club route..then realized it was a mile away from where we usually start so actually ran 7 miles. Oh well. They were easy slow miles. Not the killer 800's, so I figure that was worthy of the name taper.
Because I have to work the Open House at the High School tonight from 5-730 I was able to come in late, at 930 today. Since I'll be missing run club tonight, I and Topaz hit the trail at 7 AM. It was awesome to sleep in until 6 and make Troy and Tyler pancakes before heading out. Yeah, we all are early to bed and early to rise.
It was incredibly foggy this morning. While I was running I couldn't even see Topaz up ahead of me. As we were nearing the river I could hear a coyote barking and howling. I don't know if we suprised him because of the fog-does fog mask the sense of smell? Usually the coyotes smell Topaz and I, and leave us alone. Anyhow, Topaz ran up on him and thought he needed to be herded. Oh man. I couldn't see through the fog, couldn't see the coyote but certainly heard that he was near. Topaz's hair on his back stood on end and he did his herding stance. On all four, crawling toward the coyote, giving him the Border Collie stare. The coyote wouldn't budge. He was howling and barking up a storm. Finally I saw the coyote ran off, Topaz after him and I don't know what happened from there. Topaz eventually came back, panting hard, but fine.
Nice way to start the day...
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run Freak Out
Yesterday I received my packet of information from Larry, RD of the Superior Races. www.superiortrailrace.com It freaked me out. It make the race real and that made me fearful, full of anxiety, excited and waiting in anticipation all at the same time. Too many emotions with fear over riding them all. Fear of the unknown - running longer than I have - not in distance (102.5 miles) but in hours. FANS was 116.8 miles but 24 hours. This will be 102.5 miles but 35-38 hours. Wow. That's a long time! Much can happen to me physically and mentally in the span of 38 hours. I'll have highs and lows and those altogether awesome periods when nothing matters but the trail in front of me. When I am living in the moment, wishing that my family could see the beauty and feel what I am feeling. That's what I'm looking forward to. When the endorphins are so high and plentiful that nothing matters, nothing hurts, it's all good.
I am thinking Superior Sawtooth 24/7. I am thinking about my drop bags; what will I put in each one. Where will I be on the trail when it gets dark, what bag will my flashlights go into. Do I need another iPod for Day 2? Probably. What drop back will be near sunrise. Where should I put a spare, dry jacket? Foot potion? I'll need an empty drop bag to drop off my flashlight in. What type of clothing do I need? I suppose I need extra shoes at one point for 'just in case'. Dry clothing to change into in the morning, that might feel nice. Or maybe I'll be too close to the cut offs and just need to move on out. No time for the luxury of changing clothing. This is where a crew comes in handy. Everything is in their car. No worries. I guess this just takes planning and this IS my first time with the drop bags strewn about (McNaughton was a 10 mile loop so I only needed one drop bag at the start/finish) so this IS why I find myself in freak out mode.
I'm trying to make a pace chart. There has GOT to be a worksheet on someones ultra page where you just plug in the mileage, the minute expected per mile and wala..instant clock time and race time shows at corresponding aid station. Where is that?? Someone has to have created one out there in internet land.
I've created one using 32, 35 and 38 hour finishing times. I don't know how accurate it is. I figured out a 17:32 mile pace which is what I and Maria did last week; an 18:32 pace which is what we did during the 50 mile beta test and a 38 hour which was 22 something I think. Those times included our very very long aid station breaks. I won't be breaking as long as I did during the prior training runs. Plus we ran those training runs pretty slow. BUT the training runs didn't have a night run..only some darkness. Whatever.
I'm very grateful that the fifty milers will probably be upon the course toward the finish as I am. It will be wonderful to see other people out on the trail. With only 28 entered into the 100 I will be by myself most of the time I am sure. When I come upon the 50 milers and maybe the marathoners, that will really give me a boost.
Alicia and Lynette are manning the Oberg station. That will give me something to look forward to, near the finish. They are 7.5 miles out. I don't know where everybody else is volunteering at. I'll have to find out, it'll be a treat to know a familiar face is coming up soon.
This is a tapering week and I don't care for it. I ran my 800's, run club, a few 5's and 10's this weekend. I am cutting back weight training to 2x this week. Next week I'll cut back even more.
I and Topaz headed out bright and early for 10 on the trail before Tyler's football scrimmages. He had three scrimmages and a potluck afterward, with all football teams grades 9-12 and parents. It was a fun time.
Now I'll think about those drop bags some more and maybe pack some up.
Yeah. The Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run.
Wow. It's less than two weeks out.
I am thinking Superior Sawtooth 24/7. I am thinking about my drop bags; what will I put in each one. Where will I be on the trail when it gets dark, what bag will my flashlights go into. Do I need another iPod for Day 2? Probably. What drop back will be near sunrise. Where should I put a spare, dry jacket? Foot potion? I'll need an empty drop bag to drop off my flashlight in. What type of clothing do I need? I suppose I need extra shoes at one point for 'just in case'. Dry clothing to change into in the morning, that might feel nice. Or maybe I'll be too close to the cut offs and just need to move on out. No time for the luxury of changing clothing. This is where a crew comes in handy. Everything is in their car. No worries. I guess this just takes planning and this IS my first time with the drop bags strewn about (McNaughton was a 10 mile loop so I only needed one drop bag at the start/finish) so this IS why I find myself in freak out mode.
I'm trying to make a pace chart. There has GOT to be a worksheet on someones ultra page where you just plug in the mileage, the minute expected per mile and wala..instant clock time and race time shows at corresponding aid station. Where is that?? Someone has to have created one out there in internet land.
I've created one using 32, 35 and 38 hour finishing times. I don't know how accurate it is. I figured out a 17:32 mile pace which is what I and Maria did last week; an 18:32 pace which is what we did during the 50 mile beta test and a 38 hour which was 22 something I think. Those times included our very very long aid station breaks. I won't be breaking as long as I did during the prior training runs. Plus we ran those training runs pretty slow. BUT the training runs didn't have a night run..only some darkness. Whatever.
I'm very grateful that the fifty milers will probably be upon the course toward the finish as I am. It will be wonderful to see other people out on the trail. With only 28 entered into the 100 I will be by myself most of the time I am sure. When I come upon the 50 milers and maybe the marathoners, that will really give me a boost.
Alicia and Lynette are manning the Oberg station. That will give me something to look forward to, near the finish. They are 7.5 miles out. I don't know where everybody else is volunteering at. I'll have to find out, it'll be a treat to know a familiar face is coming up soon.
This is a tapering week and I don't care for it. I ran my 800's, run club, a few 5's and 10's this weekend. I am cutting back weight training to 2x this week. Next week I'll cut back even more.
I and Topaz headed out bright and early for 10 on the trail before Tyler's football scrimmages. He had three scrimmages and a potluck afterward, with all football teams grades 9-12 and parents. It was a fun time.
Now I'll think about those drop bags some more and maybe pack some up.
Yeah. The Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run.
Wow. It's less than two weeks out.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
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