Each year for the past 5 years I've run the Ed Fitz 100K. My race reports are on the side bar. It is always a blast, 62 miles of asphalt from Finland to Duluth, with the last miles on the Grandmas Marathon Course.
I received an email that the Ed Fitz for October 13 is now CANCELED! I can't believe it. To cancel, this close to the race date? The Ed Fitz is an awesome 100K road race, along with a relay race. It is fabulous fun and I'm just so disappointed that it is gone.
I guess I'll run Twin Cities Marathon a bit harder next week, I won't have anything to save for the following week. Boohoo.
Showing posts with label Edmund Fitz 100K. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edmund Fitz 100K. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
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 16, 2005
Edmund Fitz 100 K . . . ROCKS!
On Friday I arrived to the DECC in Duluth for the mandatory pre race briefing. I was going to meet Scott and Alicia and attend the meeting, then follow them to a mutual friends' home who was going to put us up, or put up with us, for the weekend. It was really nice not booking the hotel and spending a wad of cash, that whole scene. I was looking forward to staying at K's home.
Scott was running the 100K solo and Alicia was going to crew for us. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was planning on doting on me every bit as she was going to be there for Scott.
We attended the meeting, picked up our race packets and headed over to K's. We hadn't had dinner yet so we stopped at CUB FOODS and did a fair amount of shopping.
The three of us were able to have the guest house to ourselves. It was very nice; we set the alarms for 2 AM and dozed off to sleep.
2 AM and the wind was whipping! I could hear it blowing outside. Oh man, I just didn't want that. Luckily, the temperature was 48F, it was temperature was warmer than I had thought it would be.
We packed up all of our junk and headed off to the start line, in Finland, MN.
It was REAL windy. But REAL beautiful. The stars were so bright, up in the beautiful north woods. The moon was almost full; just spectacular. We were watching shooting stars. I asked the stars to guide me to the finish line without an injury. They obliged.
At 4 AM the sky was so bright that I didn't need a flashlight. I put in back into my bag and never did use it.
As I went to the port-a-potties I realized that I was definately going to put my wind pants on over my shorts. It was freezing! That wind was crazy, I'm glad I didn't know what the wind chill was, but I bet it was in the 20's.
5AM and were ready to roll. I had my iPod, food, clothes, etc. with Alicia in her car; she would follow us along the 62 mile course to the finish. She was going to pull over before each 5K aid station to see what we needed.
This is an interesting race. There are 100+ relay teams, consisting of 5-8 people. Each team has a vehicle, one person runs a 'leg' of the race at a time, hands off a baton to the next person, and so on. The team, in the vehicle, drives along the course.
For the solos; if you are lucky, you have a crew. That person will drive along the course and cater to your every whim. Alicia even bought us hot coffee at one point..just because we thought it would taste good at that moment. And it did!
You would think there would be a ton of traffic and chaos; but there isn't. It is very well run and quite organized. If one isn't up to the solo, I would certainly suggest one try the team relay.
OK, so 5AM and we are off! The solo runners are offered a 5 AM or 7 AM start. If you can finish in 10 hours, you are encouraged to take the 7 AM start.
As I was running along someone introduced himself as Brent. Here it was Brent from WI who posted on my blog a week or so ago. It was real neat to actually meet him in person. Brett finished in 11:15! An awesome first finish at the 100K distance! Congratulations, Brent.
I really struggled with my running the first 4-5 hours. My right thigh was hurting, it's never ached before and I was worried about having had the flu earlier in the week. My legs were dead. Just tired dead. I was thinking about all of the miles I have run this summer, all the races, TCM was just 2 weeks ago, well, duh, I should have tired legs. But I didn't want them this early in the day. I didn't feel like I had eaten enough carbs the night before, I didn't have my usual pasta feast. All of these things kept nagging at me.
Around 1.5 hours into the race I fell in back of Scott and just couldn't catch him. It was making me mad; not that he was in front of me, but that I could not catch him. He would run, then take a good long walk break, run again, walk break. I could make NO gain on him. I wasn't taking a walk break, I was running consistantly and could not catch him. Up the hill he'd go and I'd be trudging along trying to catch him.
I was lucky, eventually he waited for me to catch up. I think he was stretching and just decided to wait. I ran the next 45 miles with him! We would run a while, then walk, 'run to the passing sign', then take a walk break. He told me this is how he has always run this race-I figured I'd run along with him, he has 5 finishes here!
I think the walk breaks saved my legs. By miles 25-30 I was coming back, getting into what I call "The Julie Zone". I get into a place where nothing hurts, I have only happy thoughts and yeah, I'm going to finish this thing.
My Big Lake Run Club was doing the relay race out there. I was SO happy to see them along the course. It was awesome. They all piled out of their van, ran around me with hugs and candy, gave TONS of encouragement and piled back into their van, continuing up the road. I saw them out there a few times. Once I was so happy to see them I did a little dance.
I was feeling awesome.
Eventually it warmed up, I was able to give Alicia my pants, gloves and ear band. Thank goodness!
Just before 50K the 7AM starters began to catch us. It's so cool to see them. The winner from last years race was the first to pass us (he won this race, too). He moved along like a well oiled machine. I just can't imagine to be able to hold that pace. He finished in like 7 hours. Gah.
Somewhere along the course Scott told me his favorite part was coming up. We turned the corner and there was like a one mile rolling downhill. The sun was shining, the leaves were in their full color, the road went down, down, down; and you could see Lake Superior in all her splendor. It was beautiful. It took my breath away.
We ran and ran and ran..down, down and down. It was awesome. I think I smiled the whole way.
Scott has run the course .. and finished .. all five times. He knows it very well. He told me when each aid station was coming up, etc. It made it very nice. It was like I had a tour guide!
Alicia, as I said, was just fantastic. I told her at one stop that I'd like a sandwich, she'd pull ahead to the next 5K check point, walk across the highway and stand there, sandwich in hand, asking me what I'd like at the next check point. It truly was a treat.
At one point, near the end of the race I asked her for a potato chip. I and Scott had grabbed a handful from her earlier and they were really good. Sure enough, at the next aid point she had a baggie chips for me to carry along the course!
The last 18 miles of the course is run on Grandmas Marathon. I know that course very well, so it really surprised me that the course seemed so hilly yesterday! Of course, after running 50 miles I guess anything seems hilly.
I and Scott hit 50 miles at 9:45 or so. You know, when I run FANS, on pavement as well, it takes me almost 12 hours to get 50 miles. And there aren't any hills! This makes no sense to me. I suppose since I usually enter FANS for the 24 hour option, maybe I run slower. I don't know.
Shortly after the 50 mile mark Scott began doing calculations and figured maybe we could break 12 hours. I was feeling really good. I thought maybe we could. We ran/walked a while longer and Scott told me I should go ahead and break 12 hours. I thought about it a while and decided yeah, I'd give it a try.
I ran ahead, I felt sad to break away from Scott, I had really enjoyed running with him and he saved my legs. But I wanted to break 12. Off I went.
I asked Alicia for my iPod at the next station and rocked on for the finish line.
The relay runners make the ultra runners feel like rock stars. I had one group of relayers stand along the shoulder and do the WAVE as I ran by. They yelled and screamed at me and told me how awesome I was. It was incredible.
It was one big ego trip, those last 5 miles in.
Rick; an ultra runner friend of mine appeared around 55 miles. He ran the Glacial Trail 50K last week so wasn't running. It was so neat to run with him for a while. I had no idea he would be out on the course. He just wanted to offer his support.
I had 5 miles left. If I ran 11 minutes miles I would make it. I had been running 11 minute miles; I could do it. Maybe. If I didn't fall or puke or who knows. Anything could go wrong at this point.
Alicia parked her car and ran over to my side of the road. "Right here, this spot is 4.5 miles to the finish" I told her I might be able to break 12 hours. If I ran my ass off.
I ran my ass off.
The relayers were SCREAMING! "Woman solo! Woman solo! Your an inspiration! How do you do it? GO GO GO GO GO GO!" It was crazy fun. I was smiling so much my face was hurting!
I turned into the wooded finish area, about .5 mile left and knew that I was going to do it. Woohoo!
Oh my gosh, as I'm running into the finish, there is Bonnie. I couldn't believe it! She was clicking off pictures and clapping and yelling. She and her daughter had driven up and were able to watch Scott and I finish.
The announcer: And here's a solo..Julie Berg..from Big Lake..just ran 100K..congratulations!
11:53! Yeah hoo! I ran this race 2 years ago in 12:40.
It was awesome.
I felt really good. 4 minutes later, here came Scott, in 11:57! He broke 12 hours; a PR for him too. Woohoo!
We walked into Lake Superior and soaked our feet and legs. It had warmed to about 55 degrees, but by 5 PM it was cooling back down.
Bonnie went back to Minneapolis and I and Scott were treated to massages. It was fantastic.
What a wonderful day in the beautiful Minnesota northern woods.
***I brought along my camera; I didn't realize the battery was low. I did get 2 before pictures I'll post. Bonnie will be emailing me many that she took. I'll post those when they arrive.
Scott was running the 100K solo and Alicia was going to crew for us. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she was planning on doting on me every bit as she was going to be there for Scott.
We attended the meeting, picked up our race packets and headed over to K's. We hadn't had dinner yet so we stopped at CUB FOODS and did a fair amount of shopping.
The three of us were able to have the guest house to ourselves. It was very nice; we set the alarms for 2 AM and dozed off to sleep.
2 AM and the wind was whipping! I could hear it blowing outside. Oh man, I just didn't want that. Luckily, the temperature was 48F, it was temperature was warmer than I had thought it would be.
We packed up all of our junk and headed off to the start line, in Finland, MN.
It was REAL windy. But REAL beautiful. The stars were so bright, up in the beautiful north woods. The moon was almost full; just spectacular. We were watching shooting stars. I asked the stars to guide me to the finish line without an injury. They obliged.
At 4 AM the sky was so bright that I didn't need a flashlight. I put in back into my bag and never did use it.
As I went to the port-a-potties I realized that I was definately going to put my wind pants on over my shorts. It was freezing! That wind was crazy, I'm glad I didn't know what the wind chill was, but I bet it was in the 20's.
5AM and were ready to roll. I had my iPod, food, clothes, etc. with Alicia in her car; she would follow us along the 62 mile course to the finish. She was going to pull over before each 5K aid station to see what we needed.
This is an interesting race. There are 100+ relay teams, consisting of 5-8 people. Each team has a vehicle, one person runs a 'leg' of the race at a time, hands off a baton to the next person, and so on. The team, in the vehicle, drives along the course.
For the solos; if you are lucky, you have a crew. That person will drive along the course and cater to your every whim. Alicia even bought us hot coffee at one point..just because we thought it would taste good at that moment. And it did!
You would think there would be a ton of traffic and chaos; but there isn't. It is very well run and quite organized. If one isn't up to the solo, I would certainly suggest one try the team relay.
OK, so 5AM and we are off! The solo runners are offered a 5 AM or 7 AM start. If you can finish in 10 hours, you are encouraged to take the 7 AM start.
As I was running along someone introduced himself as Brent. Here it was Brent from WI who posted on my blog a week or so ago. It was real neat to actually meet him in person. Brett finished in 11:15! An awesome first finish at the 100K distance! Congratulations, Brent.
I really struggled with my running the first 4-5 hours. My right thigh was hurting, it's never ached before and I was worried about having had the flu earlier in the week. My legs were dead. Just tired dead. I was thinking about all of the miles I have run this summer, all the races, TCM was just 2 weeks ago, well, duh, I should have tired legs. But I didn't want them this early in the day. I didn't feel like I had eaten enough carbs the night before, I didn't have my usual pasta feast. All of these things kept nagging at me.
Around 1.5 hours into the race I fell in back of Scott and just couldn't catch him. It was making me mad; not that he was in front of me, but that I could not catch him. He would run, then take a good long walk break, run again, walk break. I could make NO gain on him. I wasn't taking a walk break, I was running consistantly and could not catch him. Up the hill he'd go and I'd be trudging along trying to catch him.
I was lucky, eventually he waited for me to catch up. I think he was stretching and just decided to wait. I ran the next 45 miles with him! We would run a while, then walk, 'run to the passing sign', then take a walk break. He told me this is how he has always run this race-I figured I'd run along with him, he has 5 finishes here!
I think the walk breaks saved my legs. By miles 25-30 I was coming back, getting into what I call "The Julie Zone". I get into a place where nothing hurts, I have only happy thoughts and yeah, I'm going to finish this thing.
My Big Lake Run Club was doing the relay race out there. I was SO happy to see them along the course. It was awesome. They all piled out of their van, ran around me with hugs and candy, gave TONS of encouragement and piled back into their van, continuing up the road. I saw them out there a few times. Once I was so happy to see them I did a little dance.
I was feeling awesome.
Eventually it warmed up, I was able to give Alicia my pants, gloves and ear band. Thank goodness!
Just before 50K the 7AM starters began to catch us. It's so cool to see them. The winner from last years race was the first to pass us (he won this race, too). He moved along like a well oiled machine. I just can't imagine to be able to hold that pace. He finished in like 7 hours. Gah.
Somewhere along the course Scott told me his favorite part was coming up. We turned the corner and there was like a one mile rolling downhill. The sun was shining, the leaves were in their full color, the road went down, down, down; and you could see Lake Superior in all her splendor. It was beautiful. It took my breath away.
We ran and ran and ran..down, down and down. It was awesome. I think I smiled the whole way.
Scott has run the course .. and finished .. all five times. He knows it very well. He told me when each aid station was coming up, etc. It made it very nice. It was like I had a tour guide!
Alicia, as I said, was just fantastic. I told her at one stop that I'd like a sandwich, she'd pull ahead to the next 5K check point, walk across the highway and stand there, sandwich in hand, asking me what I'd like at the next check point. It truly was a treat.
At one point, near the end of the race I asked her for a potato chip. I and Scott had grabbed a handful from her earlier and they were really good. Sure enough, at the next aid point she had a baggie chips for me to carry along the course!
The last 18 miles of the course is run on Grandmas Marathon. I know that course very well, so it really surprised me that the course seemed so hilly yesterday! Of course, after running 50 miles I guess anything seems hilly.
I and Scott hit 50 miles at 9:45 or so. You know, when I run FANS, on pavement as well, it takes me almost 12 hours to get 50 miles. And there aren't any hills! This makes no sense to me. I suppose since I usually enter FANS for the 24 hour option, maybe I run slower. I don't know.
Shortly after the 50 mile mark Scott began doing calculations and figured maybe we could break 12 hours. I was feeling really good. I thought maybe we could. We ran/walked a while longer and Scott told me I should go ahead and break 12 hours. I thought about it a while and decided yeah, I'd give it a try.
I ran ahead, I felt sad to break away from Scott, I had really enjoyed running with him and he saved my legs. But I wanted to break 12. Off I went.
I asked Alicia for my iPod at the next station and rocked on for the finish line.
The relay runners make the ultra runners feel like rock stars. I had one group of relayers stand along the shoulder and do the WAVE as I ran by. They yelled and screamed at me and told me how awesome I was. It was incredible.
It was one big ego trip, those last 5 miles in.
Rick; an ultra runner friend of mine appeared around 55 miles. He ran the Glacial Trail 50K last week so wasn't running. It was so neat to run with him for a while. I had no idea he would be out on the course. He just wanted to offer his support.
I had 5 miles left. If I ran 11 minutes miles I would make it. I had been running 11 minute miles; I could do it. Maybe. If I didn't fall or puke or who knows. Anything could go wrong at this point.
Alicia parked her car and ran over to my side of the road. "Right here, this spot is 4.5 miles to the finish" I told her I might be able to break 12 hours. If I ran my ass off.
I ran my ass off.
The relayers were SCREAMING! "Woman solo! Woman solo! Your an inspiration! How do you do it? GO GO GO GO GO GO!" It was crazy fun. I was smiling so much my face was hurting!
I turned into the wooded finish area, about .5 mile left and knew that I was going to do it. Woohoo!
Oh my gosh, as I'm running into the finish, there is Bonnie. I couldn't believe it! She was clicking off pictures and clapping and yelling. She and her daughter had driven up and were able to watch Scott and I finish.
The announcer: And here's a solo..Julie Berg..from Big Lake..just ran 100K..congratulations!
11:53! Yeah hoo! I ran this race 2 years ago in 12:40.
It was awesome.
I felt really good. 4 minutes later, here came Scott, in 11:57! He broke 12 hours; a PR for him too. Woohoo!
We walked into Lake Superior and soaked our feet and legs. It had warmed to about 55 degrees, but by 5 PM it was cooling back down.
Bonnie went back to Minneapolis and I and Scott were treated to massages. It was fantastic.
What a wonderful day in the beautiful Minnesota northern woods.
***I brought along my camera; I didn't realize the battery was low. I did get 2 before pictures I'll post. Bonnie will be emailing me many that she took. I'll post those when they arrive.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
ED FITZ 100K
I ran my yesterday run today. I was scrunched for time yesterday so ran 5, today had more time so ran 10. The rivers are real high; Topaz went for a swim instead of just laying in the water. We've had torrential rains this past week.
It's a beautiful day today in Minnesota. When I hit the trail it was 40F, now it is up to 56F and sunny. The smell of fall is in the air, the leaves are changing, it is truly wonderful.
So while I was running this morning I began to think about Ed Fitz 100 K. The race is taking place next Saturday. I'm feeling good and recovered from Twin Cities Marathon last Sunday. Next week I'll feel even better.
I ran Ed Fitz 2 years ago; I had a crew of Ann and Bonnie. They met me at most of the aid stations every 5K to cater to my every whim. It was a great day. It was my first 100K and I finished in just under 13 hours. I ended up taking 3rd woman and won $150. Go figure!
Last year I caught a cold right after running Superior 50 Mile, I still had it while running TCM and by the time Ed Fitz came around it had turned into bronchitis so I never ran Ed Fitz. Bummer.
This year I'll be at the start. I don't have a crew though so that's the pits. I can have a drop bag at 50K so I'll put a few Myloplex bars and gels, maybe a sandwich or something in there for the half way point. I'll probably begin the race in pants, over shorts, then I can just pull the pants off and tie them around my waist until I get to my drop bag. That's kind of a pain. I'll have gloves, ear band, etc. I'll feel like a damn pack mule. I've even been thinking about wearing my camelback just to carry stuff, but oh, how I hate wearing that.
When I first began running ultras I used the camelback and I packed everything but the kitchen sink. During Ice Age 50 Mile it weighed 27 pounds. That's crazy!
I've since pared down a bit.
I really like my Nathan Sports 2 24 oz water bottle carrier. I'll probably just use that.
The aid stations at Ed Fitz mainly cater to the relay runners. They are many teams that run the 100K. My Big Lake Run Club will be up there with a team.
If you don't have anything to do next Saturday and would like to go for a drive in the great north woods, hey, maybe you want to spend 12 hours driving around, crewing for me?
I better check the weather forecast for next Saturday.
Enjoy today!
It's a beautiful day today in Minnesota. When I hit the trail it was 40F, now it is up to 56F and sunny. The smell of fall is in the air, the leaves are changing, it is truly wonderful.
So while I was running this morning I began to think about Ed Fitz 100 K. The race is taking place next Saturday. I'm feeling good and recovered from Twin Cities Marathon last Sunday. Next week I'll feel even better.
I ran Ed Fitz 2 years ago; I had a crew of Ann and Bonnie. They met me at most of the aid stations every 5K to cater to my every whim. It was a great day. It was my first 100K and I finished in just under 13 hours. I ended up taking 3rd woman and won $150. Go figure!
Last year I caught a cold right after running Superior 50 Mile, I still had it while running TCM and by the time Ed Fitz came around it had turned into bronchitis so I never ran Ed Fitz. Bummer.
This year I'll be at the start. I don't have a crew though so that's the pits. I can have a drop bag at 50K so I'll put a few Myloplex bars and gels, maybe a sandwich or something in there for the half way point. I'll probably begin the race in pants, over shorts, then I can just pull the pants off and tie them around my waist until I get to my drop bag. That's kind of a pain. I'll have gloves, ear band, etc. I'll feel like a damn pack mule. I've even been thinking about wearing my camelback just to carry stuff, but oh, how I hate wearing that.
When I first began running ultras I used the camelback and I packed everything but the kitchen sink. During Ice Age 50 Mile it weighed 27 pounds. That's crazy!
I've since pared down a bit.
I really like my Nathan Sports 2 24 oz water bottle carrier. I'll probably just use that.
The aid stations at Ed Fitz mainly cater to the relay runners. They are many teams that run the 100K. My Big Lake Run Club will be up there with a team.
If you don't have anything to do next Saturday and would like to go for a drive in the great north woods, hey, maybe you want to spend 12 hours driving around, crewing for me?
I better check the weather forecast for next Saturday.
Enjoy today!
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