Psycho Wyco 50K

Psycho Wyco is a fabulous race held in Kansas City, Kansas. Surprisingly, it is in the woods with  lots of roots, rocks, river crossings and hills. All hills. It’s awesome.  It is not what I think of when I think of Kansas!

I ran Psycho Wyco a few years ago, when it was a cold year, there was no reprieve from the Minnesota winter. This year was a whole different climate!

Maria and I were running a long run at Elm Creek a few weeks ago when I asked her if she’d like to go out to run PW again. She thought about it for a week and then let me know that she and Doug were up for it. Yippee!! I had travel companions!

We left Apple Valley around 8AM. Kansas is about 6 hours away. They decided Doug would drive the van so that we would have more room. I was very thankful; as we rode across Iowa, in 60 mile per hour winds, we saw 9 semi trucks that had blown over into the ditches. It was scary stuff. Doug drove us through to safety!

Maria had planned a few stops along the way. We took a detour into Kansas City Missouri for Christopher Elbow Chocolates. Oh man, it was fabulous. We each spent $80 on high end wonderful chocolate. I binged. It wasn’t pretty. It is all gone now. I even gave Troy the last pieces.

We traveled on to Kansas and stopped at Cupini’s Italian Deli, a counter that served up Italian staples.  Guy from DDD, FoodNetwork had visited and gave it a rave review. It was very good.

Before hitting the hotel we swung by the race start. Oh my gosh, green grass, some budding going on in the trees, the smell of spring. It was 70 degrees!  WOW.  As we were checking out the area we saw Minnesota friends: Ed and Andrew Sandor and Dan LaPlant with his girlfriend, Jamie, who WON the women’s race and broke the record. Yeah, way to run!

We headed over to check into the room where race packet pickup was. The sweatshirt is great, all of the bling was awesome. We received  a trucker hat and cool medal for finishing.

Saturday morning at 500 it was already 45 degrees. Fabulous!! I had on a skirt and a short sleeved top, really!  I had just purchased a pair of Altra trail and a pair of Altra road shoes from Kurt at Twin Cities Running Company . I was going to try out the trail shoes right from the box. I placed a pair of my tried and true Inov-8s in a drop bag in case they didn’t work out. They did work out!  I wore them for the whole race without a problem.

I ate breakfast and was ready to roll. We drove to the start, arriving about an hour beforehand. Of course I hadn’t pooped in two days due to the change in my schedule. Ugh. I tried not to worry about it because we were going to be in the woods anyway so it wasn’t like I was running Twin Cities Marathon and wouldn’t be able to find a bathroom upon the way. I stuffed some toilet paper into my pocket.

I was so excited. This was all about fun, no fast time, no out of breath business, I was going to keep my heart rate low-140 per MAF training. I’d walk when the rate increased too much. I was just happy to be out in the woods for the day. I was glad we were going to be driving home after the race, I’d have a whole day at home and wouldn’t miss out on church. Yeah!

The race is a 10Mile, beginning at 9 AM and the 50K and 20 Mile beginning at 8 AM. I started with a light Patagonia Hoodini which I had just purchased. I watched someone steal my last one at Superior 100 right after I finished in 2014. Yup. Nice, hu? I was too tired to run this person down and ask for it back.

I began in the back of the pack, running with a hand held. I didn’t need a pack, there was an aid station every 4 miles and back to the start/finish to my drop bag every 10 miles. After 1 mile I tied my jacket around my waist. It was going to be a delightful day!

The creek crossings weren’t very deep-the cool water felt good on my feet. The hills were as steep as I remembered but the footing was SO good!  The trails weren’t muddy, they weren’t frozen, they were soft and fabulous. All I did was smile.

My heart rate hovered between 140-145 most of the time. Climbing hills brought it up to 160 but it quickly recovered back to the 140 area. I felt like I could run forever. I had no pain, I didn’t want the race to end, I was enjoying every step.

I came into the first loop and refilled my bottle, grabbed some foot potion for chaffing. My chubby thighs were causing some friction.  I was good to go!

The second loop was awesome. I ran with Doug for a while. He was running the 20 miler. I fell into a line behind him. We just enjoyed the sun. I didn’t feel the need for music, I was thinking about how grateful I was for being able to do this. I really believed I was done running last year at this time. I just couldn’t recover from my foot surgery. It was a long recovery. I was just so pleased to be right where I was. I gave thanks to God and had conversations with Him during the whole race.

Eventually I passed Doug and took a detour for a potty break. Thank goodness!! I finally went. I was so excited, as I done I yelled out to Doug “I finally went”!  My poop looked like a crocodile poop. Seriously massive. My gut was relieved!

I ran along, finishing up the second loop. I felt so great. The sun was warm, I was in good health and high spirits. I didn’t stop smiling.

The third loop was my best. I was able to pick up KTIS from Minneapolis and just sang to the songs, worshiping the whole way. It was amazing. I wasn’t ready to stop.  I came upon the Sandor’s. They had been ahead of me the whole time. I didn’t want to sneak up and pass them in the final miles. I yelled out “you better move!  You don’t want me to pass you now”. They looked back and Andrew asked how it was that I was able to catch them. He said I came out of nowhere. I was on fire, I felt like I was flying. They hoofed it, I didn’t have to pass them. I wanted to run more. I came into the finish at 750, feeling blessed.  Maria was there to take a finish photo and an awesome medal was put around my neck, a hat in my hand. It was awesome.

We visited for a few minutes at the finish and then headed for home. We stopped at Chipotle to refuel, at Target for Starbucks and at every other rest area on the way home. Doug is a great driver. He doesn’t mind stopping a zillion times along the way for us. We walked around, stretched, peed, drank and ate. We had so much fun. I LOVE road tripping with Doug and Maria.  Can’t wait to plan the next one!

We rolled into Apple Valley about 1230, I then headed for home and arrived at 130. I unpacked and slept hard.

What a great trip and race! Oh, and I entered Superior 100 today . Oh yeah. My favorite 100.

Securian Winter Carnival Half Maraton

I’ve always enjoyed the winter carnival half marathon. It is normally very cold but this year it was very balmy!!  Saturday morning I woke up to 32F!  Wow!  I decided I’d wear light leggings with a skirt, one long sleeved top and a pair of light gloves and light buff. No screws in my shoes! No ice! Yay!

Last year, due to foot surgery, I wasn’t able to run the race. I was very excited to sign up this year.

I arrived to the race an hour before start time. I always like to leave plenty of time to find parking and find the race start.  For road races the biggest stressor for me is to find a bathroom as soon as I park. I always have an hour drive or more. Luckily for me, there was a bathroom in the parking ramp. Yes!

With only a short walk to the pre race festivities, I had plenty of time to pick up my number, shirt and mug. I couldn’t believe all of the people that I knew at the race. With a race of over 1000 people it always shocks me that I can pick out friends whom I have no idea are in attendance.  As I was walking through the skywalk I ran into John,  then Amy and Shawn, then Jeff. Pretty soon it was Dan and Karen. Amazing!  Kate and Brian. Quick fun chats with everyone. 

With just a few minutes to go before the start, I mosied outside to find a spot among the runners. I decided I’d run between the 200 and 210 pace groups. I was in no rush, this was just a training run to get in some miles on my feet. I wanted to see how my feet would stand up to the asphalt. I’ve entered Grandmas Marathon in June and haven’t really run any asphalt yet since my surgery.  I figured a 915-930 pace would be just great.

The first few miles were new to the course. We  circled around downtown before we headed out onto Shepard Road to run along the river. There has been a lot of reconstruction of the road and the area surrounding it since I’ve last run this race. The road is heavily slanted and I kept moving around the road, trying to find the place where my feet were on stable ground.  At times this was in the middle of the road and at times it was on the shoulder. Very strange.  I could feel the slant of the road in my ankles and in my knees.

The sky was blue with bright sun and just a hint of breeze. It really was a beautiful morning. I could hear the jingle of dog tags following me so I turned to look, sure enough, a large poodle was prancing along with a woman. The dog was as happy as could be as I watched the women feed her a cliff bar. They stopped often as the women let her dog drink from her water bottle. So awesome to see.

I had 4 gels and filled my water bottle once during the race. 

I was running 915s most of the race, this was  a comfortable pace for me. I was surprised that my heart rate was quite high-my average HR during the run was 162. Too high, really. My highest HR was 182, as I climbed the final hill to the finish line.

The route is an out and back so I was able to high five and holler out to each of my friends, whom I mentioned earlier. I also saw Kate while we were running.  I did not see her at the start.

What a blast of a day!  I felt great, I finished in 201 and nothing hurt. Woot!!!  The pavement was OK on my foot so I am feeling good about Grandmas.

After I arrived home Troy and I went suit shopping for the first time. He has a Career Fair at the U of M, where he attends the College of Science and Engineering. I asked John at the race for a recommendation as to where we should shop. He suggested Men’s Wearhouse so that is where Troy and I went. We were blown away by the high level of customer service and the ease of  purchasing his  suit. We will certainly go back.

Next up is Psycho Wyco 50K on February 20. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to this one. Looking forward to it!!

Psycho Wyco 50K: Race Report

If a smile is worth a 1000 words, I guess you know what I'm saying here!

With the Ultra Gnarly Bandit series as my 2012 goal and the first 100 in April, I hoped to find a few aided races to take the place of solo long runs on snowy trail.

My friend Maria was heading to Kansas City for the Psycho Wyco 50K so I asked if I could tag along.  Yippee!  She offered me a ride with herself and Doug. Doug was going to run the 10 mile race.

I began to watch the weather forecast. KC was basking in 50-60s. Wow, I couldn’t believe it. Pretty soon the 10 day forecast was showing 20-30, without any snow or ice on the trail. Conditions were looking great.

After dropping Troy off at school on Friday I made my way over to Maria’s. Maria, Doug and son Justin were all aboard and we headed down south.  On the way down Maria told me that the temperatures had really taken a dive. The start temperature was now 6F with a high of 28F.  Brrrr!  I didn’t bring a pair of wind mittens to wear over my gloves  nor did I bring a neck gaiter. Hmm.  Luckily I couldn’t decide between tights or pants so I brought both. I’d be wearing both!  I only packed one thin shirt so I was hoping we were going to get a race shirt at packet pickup so I would have another layer to wear for the cold start.

Our trip to Kansas City was uneventful, thankfully.  Our first stop was packet pickup in Overland Park, KS. We pulled into a running store and collected our wares. Number, nice coffee mug and a technical long sleeve shirt. Yay!  Our number had a timing strip on the back of it. Cool.

I mentioned that I was hoping to find a Godiva nearby. Valentine’s Day was near and I hadn’t made my trip over to Ridgedale. I wasn’t sure we would be home in time on Sunday.  Maria looked up Godiva on her iPhone and before we knew it I was buying chocolate for my Valentine's ! 

Our next stop was the hotel. We were staying only 1 mile from the start!  Awesome.  The Comfort Suites Speedway was very nice. Clean, awesome king bed, very comfy. I was staying by myself and greatly enjoyed the quiet time alone. 

We checked in, got ourselves settled and went to check out the course. It was cold and windy!!  Brrr.  13F with a 40 mph wind and it was 4 PM.  I was worried about being cold.  The trail was frozen solid. There were many horse hoof prints that were very deep. The mud kind of came up in frozen spikes, it would be difficult footing.  Hey, it wasn’t going to be very muddy though.

After looking at the course we headed over to the Legends area. We had a great dinner at Yard House; a sirloin steak salad for me.

Back to the hotel to prepare for the morning run. I was a little bit worried about the cold. I knew my bottle would freeze but could deal with that. My frozen chin and neck I wasn’t so sure about. Maria had a spare pair of mittens that I could put over my gloves. 

With an 800 race start I had plenty of time in the morning to get ready. I brought along my French press,  my coffee grinder and favorite beans. I brewed coffee, ate a sweet potato and a few hard boiled eggs.  I was ready!

We arrived to the race start an hour before start time. The lot was already almost full!  The 50K was a 10 mile loop course so I would be able to come back to the car, hopefully, to remove a second pair of pants. I felt like a frickin’ Michelin man wearing tights and pants.

Someone must have said GO!  We were running across the grass and up onto the trail. The course was made up of many steep hills-some short, some long. Lots of up and downs. I was glad that I hadn’t lifted legs during the week! They were well rested, having only run 15 miles  race week.

The first part of the trail was this spikey bad frozen mud stuff.  Thankfully it was frozen or it would be a shoe sucking mud. It was horrific! There were craters 4-6” deep, it was solid, there was no give,  just perfect for twisting ankles. On the downhill I would stop myself, get control and navigate down slowly. I was here to finish a long training run, this race had nothing to do with racing! 

Even with Maria’s second pair of mittens over my fingers, they were cold. Holding my bottle of now slushy water was not fun.  The nozzle of the bottle was frozen so I would stop and unscrew the top, gulp down the water and spit out the ice.  I couldn’t remember the last time I needed to do this. Probably one of the Northwoods Snowshoe Marathons. It had been a while!

Eventually I came upon a hill to the first aid station. They had an aluminum pan filled with gels, sitting over a 50 gallon drum with a fire inside, trying to thaw out the gels. The poor volunteers, they were SO cold!  At least we were moving and would eventually be warming up. They were just standing around becoming more cold. 

My back and neck were feeling just great. I wasn’t having any pain, no tingling or numbness.  I was keeping a close  eye on it.

The next section was crazy!   I left the aid station, went through the woods, going back and forth every few feet. Lots of sharp corners, steep ups and downs, leaf covered trail. It was beautiful but hard on the knees!  I was surprised when I came up to the same aid station but on the opposite side! I hadn’t realized that AS1 and AS2 were one in the same.

After leaving AS2 there were more steep ups and downs, beautiful deep woods, lots of leaves on the trail and not quite so crater-ish.  The trail seemed to be more sandy with better footing.  I came out onto a grassy area, climbing a dam or something up to a  paved road. There was a train that whizzed by in back of me. I was just so happy.  I was smiling ear to ear, enjoying the pure sunshine, enjoying the warmth on my face. I was looking forward to removing Maria’s mittens and my second pair of pants once I finished this loop. My bottle was still frozen, but I was warming up.

AS3 was on the paved road. The volunteers were having a good time, trying to keep fruit thawed and gels warm. I took a piece of frozen pear, it was good! 

As I ran along I just couldn’t stop smiling. This was fabulous.  I wasn’t in pain, I was enjoying an aided long run, just what I wanted. I had been feeling euphoria since the start but kind of tried to put it on hold, feeling I had much of the race left and I that I had better wait to celebrate this run.

I decided pushing back the euphoria was ridiculous!  I realized it was good to feel euphoric, take it while it is there, breathe it in and enjoy!  The euphoria never left me..it was with me the whole way .

I came into the start/finish at 220 or so. I had hoped to finish each loop in 230 roughly.  Everything was great.  I removed the mittens and a pair of pants. Oh thank goodness!  Nor more Michelin man look. I folded them up and placed them on Jerry’s car for the duration.  I was so darn happy! I didn’t hurt!!

The second loop came and went so quickly. A few people commented to me that they were glad they were only doing the 20 mile race. I thought to myself that I was glad I had another loop to go, I certainly wasn’t ready to be finished yet. I was enjoying each and every step.

My second loop finish was 228, just fine.  Doug was finished with his race and offered me Diet Coke.  YUM!  It tasted great.

As I headed off for my final loop I heard someone jogging near me.  Pretty soon he said “I think I’ll run with you for a while”  “Oh, K” He began to complain about the cold, to complain about the pitted trail, to complain about 101 things. I just didn’t need this. I had been totally loving this run and this guy was totally bugging me.  Pretty soon he began to suck in his snot-constantly. Every few seconds I could hear him suck through his nose, loudly. It was terrible. I mean, come on, blow it out or something. I couldn’t stand it. I was going to gag. I did gag.  Ugh!  Sniff sniff sniff swallow sniff swallow. Ugh.

I began to run a bit faster, I couldn’t take this.  Pretty soon he was out of sight, thank goodness. 

I was having fun again before I knew it. This guy wasn’t going to ruin my day.  My bottle was ice free, I was now able to drink freely without ice chunks. I had no pain. NO PAIN!

I began to run along and think about this run. I thought about all of the times in the past year that I told myself it was OK that I couldn't run, it was OK if I could never run again. It was important for me to live without pain, not to run. I really really believed that, I had to believe that in order to get on to the next day. As I ran along I realized again how much I missed running. It was like losing my best friend, losing a part of me. I am so very glad to have it back. I began to cry, to sob, reliving what I had lost and what is now back. I felt such gratitude to be running again. What a great day, a great race and great volunteers .  I had SO much fun!  I was skipping along the final loop, passing people left and right. What a blast. Really.

I crossed the finish line in 7:30 with a big smile upon my face. I enjoyed each and every minute! I feel like I am back, definitely back to myself ! Life is good !