Race Report: John Holmes 50k (aka My REAL Maffetone Test)

Finisher Glass and Tech Shirt 

I realize that it has been awful quiet over here lately. That is partially a function of the state of my running and partially a function of the rather quiet summer running season here in Florida. With the temperatures cooling down some I was able to do my first race of the season, the John Holmes 50k. This race served two functions. It got me back to the type of running I love (trail ultras), and it also gave me a chance to get an updated Maffetone test of sorts, which was long overdue (as one recent comment on the blog pointed out).

First let me give a quick recap. I have been training by heart rate since late January as I started on my quest to regain fitness after a move and layoff. I became intrigued by the method of Phil Maffetone, which I talked about in another post.  I spent the entire spring and summer training aerobically. Early in the process, I did a test and noted the slight improvement in fitness, but I did not do follow-up tests because the weather got hot, and my paces at the training heart rate slowed down because of this. Testing would have been pointless because it would not really represent what was truly happening in terms of conditioning. I just soldiered on trying to prepare for a September marathon. It was a disastrous failure because although I was aerobically fit, my quads and calves had other ideas about a severely downhill marathon that I was not prepared for.  Even before the DNF, though, I had already decided that would be my last road marathon. I just could not wait to get back to trails and ultras!

Fast forward to October and cooler weather in FL.  I was entered to run my first 50k since my streak of 50ks in 2012. The John Holmes 50k is on what can be considered a “local” course for me, as it was only about 30 miles from my house in the CroomWildlife Management Area. The course itself is a 7 mile loop, done four times (obviously) with short portions at the beginning and end to make up the mileage and get to and from the trail portion from the start/finish. I had not been down to the park to run, but I had seen pictures and read the descriptions. The course is pretty typical of this part of Florida: packed sand trails, mostly single track, pine and cypress trees, a few hills, a few roots here and there to keep it interesting, lots of sun by midday. The race was small. As per the site, the field is limited to 250 runners. The results show 79 in the 50k, with the rest spread over the 16 mile and 9 mile options.

I went to the race by myself, hoping to meet a few runners from the FUR (Florida UltraRunners) group on Facebook. My approach was very low key because this was just meant to be the first of several events used as training runs for a 50 miler (Bear Bait 50 miler) that I will be doing on my birthday in January. I was hoping to try out a few things to see things to see how they would work for the long haul. One was to try out racing by HR rather than pace. A second was to work on refining a run/walk strategy that would work to keep me going strong through the entire event. The third was to practice fueling and hydrating more effectively.

I got to the race early.  Start time for the 50k was 7 am, which is not quite daylight here right now. Unfortunately, for me “low key approach” is also a synonym for “didn’t bother to pack properly.” One of the things I meant to throw in our race morning but forgot was my headlamp. I stumbled around in the dark trying to get ready and use the bathroom, hoping that by the race start I would at least be able to see my feet. While I was waiting for the start I did manage to meet two FURs that were parked next to me. Goal one for the race completed. (That may not seem like a big deal to many of you, but I am pretty shy when it comes to meeting new people. I hate being the kid on the side of the playground who doesn’t know anyone.) As weird as it sounds to some who may already know me, introducing myself was probably the hardest part of the day.

By the time the race started, it was still a little dark, but thankfully the first ten minutes or so were on a flat packed sand (or maybe limestone) road that was nice and white. In the early light it was not difficult to see where we were headed, and there was not much to trip over.  I had decided for this race not to wear a pack. I knew it was going to get hot, and the aid stations were going to be close enough together (3 on each loop) that I did not think I would need more than a hand bottle. I was feeling pretty good at the start, with the cool temps.

I started mid-pack and just cruised along making sure that my HR was where it should have been. To keep my ego out of this equation, I had set my watch so that I could only see my HR and my lap time (so I would know when to walk).  I promised myself I would not peek at the other screens that showed pace, and even late in the race when I was wondering if I was going to break 6 hours, I resisted the temptation to check. (Okay, so I might have had a little bit of a time goal in mind, but I wasn’t chasing it. I was taking what the HR would give me.)

We hit the single track and the first loop went by pretty happily. I was just trying to get used to the terrain, noting where the hills were, the placement of the aid stations, and trying to keep my HR down. I was planning on keeping it right around 65-67% for the first half of the race, then letting it creep up to no higher than 75% for the latter part of the race. I had also decided not to use my run/walk schedule until after the first loop, just walking/hiking on the uphills for the first loop. That seemed to work pretty well. The uphills were typically :30 to 1:30 in duration, so I felt the strategy was a good one. The only annoying thing at this point was the number of people passing me because of the conservative start.

The second loop I settled in. I started my 10/1 run-walk strategy, with the occasional unscheduled uphill walk. I was eating off the tables for this race. This is a change in strategy for me, and one of the things I was testing. I had taken an Immodium as an insurance policy before the race (also something I had not tried before) and was anxious to see if it would really work to allow me to eat solid food without those inconvenient side trips off the trail. At one of the aid stations, one of the FUR runners who was volunteering had brought cupcakes!! I grabbed one of the mini chocolate ones, decorated in a Halloween theme, which went well with the ghoul who was guarding the aid station (pretty scary by the third time around), and decided to just go for it. Just in case that wasn’t tempting fate enough, I also grabbed a handful of M&Ms and headed off. For the next 30 minutes or so, I kept waiting for the tell-tale rumblings that would normally mean that my digestive system was not going for the eat and run thing, but they never came. I was ecstatic, and I took full advantage of the situation by making plain and peanut M&Ms my fuel of choice for the rest of the race.

Toward the end of the second loop I had a little scare. I had a stabbing pain at the top of my lower leg, below the knee and kind of on the inside: new pain in a new place. For a few minutes, I could not run. More people came flying by me. I asked how far to the aid station, and they said about a mile. Great. I pulled out my phone to text my friend Leslie that I was going to have ANOTHER DNF. I was beside myself. My fingers were sweating, and I could not get the touch screen to work. I heard runners behind me, shoved my phone in the belt, and tried to jog. Pretty soon I could actually jog.  It was still painful, though. As I approached the aid station I realized I was going to need to go a little further to get off of the loop and back to the finish under my own power. I grabbed some aid and walked out of the station, up and down a little hilly part. As I came off that section, I decided to try to jog again. Amazingly when I started going, the pain was completely gone! I could not believe it and thanked the running gods that I had not dropped at the aid station.

The third loop was the worst for me. It was getting hot, and I was running with the fear that the pain in my leg would come back. I  passed a woman who had lost her bottle and who was really suffering in the heat. I slowed down for a bit to give her a drink from my bottle. I could not imagine being out there without fluids. I drank my whole bottle way before the last aid station and was really thirsty by the time I got there. I filled my bottle took another electrolyte cap and drank, drank, drank.  The volunteers there were so great, making sure I had all I needed.

The fourth loop started, and I started to feel really good. My HR had risen a bit on the third lap because of the heat and probably some dehydration, but with only 7 miles to go, and with it still well within the aerobic range, I was feeling great.  I started to pass people, some of whom were women. That made me feel even better. My legs were tired, but I was not nearly as wrecked as I was afraid I would be at that point (with my longest run prior being the 21 miles of the DNF marathon).  The heat was not bothering me as it appeared to be some of the other people. I mean I was ready for it to be over, but I was not thrashed. The hardest part for me on this last loop was not looking at my watch. I was dying to know if I was going to be under my secret 6 hour goal. I thought about how much it would suck if I was 6:01 or something because I had not known and could have gone harder. But I didn’t look. I shook those thoughts off and just said, “follow your plan.” 

The final section of the trail, from the loop back to the finish line, is a booger. It is uphill and full of the most humongous roots. I was terrified of this section, not because I am not good on technical trails, but because ever since the fall where I ruptured my spleen, I am all too aware that another fall like that could actually result in death or at least a trip to the ER and surgery (either of which is such a horrible way to end a  good race). I ended up power hiking up a lot of this section, trying to get to the finish line upright. Finally the probably .5 mile section from hell was finished. The finish line was in sight. I looked anxiously at the clock, which for whatever reason was not showing a time. I crossed the finish, hit the stop, and anxiously pushed through the screens on my watch. HOLY COW!!! Not only did I come in under 6:00. I was at 5:45:48!!! That is my fastest 50k since 2004!!  I was amazed. About that time, they also told me that I had won my age group, which also was a super pleasant surprise.

Unfortunately, also at about that time, the overwhelming soreness hit my legs. I was still walking, but it didn’t matter. The pain was overwhelming. I stumbled to my car, trying to cope with the pain. It was at that point that I realized that my "low-key approach" to packing also meant I had not brought a towel to wipe the dirt, sweat, mud off before changing clothes or getting in the car. I also did not have any ibuprofen. FUR to the rescue!!  Another woman at her car, also a FUR, and someone who obviously has a better approach to packing than I do, supplied me with the 4 ibuprofen I would need to be able to get in the car and drive home.

There was a fairly robust post-race barbecue and get-together going on, but I honestly was in too much pain to go over and meet the people that I was hoping to meet. I headed back to get a bit more diet Coke and a brownie, check the official time, and then decided I just wanted to see if I could manage to get myself folded into the car to drive home. (Amazingly, with all the post race pain, I was barely even sore the next day -- weird.) 

As a whole this race was a huge success and the best test of the Maffetone method that I could have designed. After 9 months of low HR aerobic running and with a race that was run by HR, which is the best measure of my true fitness level (rather than pace), I was able to run my second fastest 50k ever and my fastest 5k since the peak of my fitness in 2004!  I can’t wait to see what I can accomplish with more time training this way and with a higher training volume. 

Related posts:

Rebuilding My Aerobic Base: The Maffetone Method

Rebuilding My Base With The Maffetone Method: Test 1

Meeting a Running Idol: Scott Jurek at Playmakers

Wednesday night I got to meet and run with one of my running idols, Scott Jurek. He is touring to promote his new book, Eat and Run, which I reviewed in a previous post.   For all you non-ultrarunners out there, let me try to explain how significant this was for me. If you are a road runner, think meeting, say Bill Rodgers. If you are a golfer, think Tiger Woods.  And for my totally non-running friends, well, just think meeting Elvis.  For me, it was a big deal.

Meeting an idol is a tricky thing. On the one hand, it is exciting (Hey, I am meeting Scot Jurek!!), but on the other it carries with it some perils. What if the person turns out to be not as idol-like as you had hoped?  What if the person turns out in some way to be a jerk?  In Scott Jurek's case, not to worry.

My initial impression of him, as he stepped out to address the crowd gathered for the fun run 5k at Playmakers, was "Dang, he is a lot taller than I had imagined." I think he had mentioned that in his book, but I was still surprised. I am thinking he is easily over 6 ft., but then again, I am small, so anyone over 5'7" is tall. The next impression I had was of how down-to-earth he seemed. After a few pre-race introductions, we posed for a group picture. Someone suggested that he lie on the ground in front of the group. Although the pavement was undoubtedly quite hot (it was in the 90s), he only hesitated for a half beat before he gamely stretched out in front of us on the ground for a series of pictures, still with a genuine smile on his face.

During the run he did something that I thought was super-thoughtful. He started at the beginning and went out with the leaders, giving the group a chance to spread out. Then he turned around and ran back through the crowd of runners, taking time to greet and talk to every runner, smiling the whole way, sometimes even posing for pictures. I was running with my friend Jessica. When he got to us, he even suggested the best way for Jessica to get the picture of the two of us running.  

Back at the store, after the run, he spent a lot of time, just mingling and talking to people. He was so accessible to anyone who wanted his time. He must have posed for over a hundred pictures and never stopped smiling. He has a natural grace and thoughtfulness about him that seems to come through in every interaction.

Finally (the run was at 7 and the talk at 8:30), we all milled into Playmakers, where it was wonderfully cool, to wait for his presentation.   There was a group of probably close to 300. It was an interesting collection of people, as was evidenced in the Q/A session following the talk. Some people were there because they were ultrarunners who were fully aware of Scott and his achievements. Then there were the road runners and beginning runners who may or may not have been familiar with his running resume. Some knew of him because of his appearance in the book Born to Run. Others were local vegans and vegetarians (some who were also runners) who were there because of their interest in his choice to follow that lifestyle as an athlete.

He began the presentation with a short video that told a little about him. It was a longer version of the book promo video that I had posted with the book review. It was no doubt helpful for those who did not know his history and background and who had not yet read the book.

He began by telling us how glad he was to be back at Playmakers, which he quipped is the "Bass Pro Shop of Running Stores." Then he thanked everyone for helping make his book #7 on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.  Next he discussed Micah True (Caballo Blanco) from Born to Run, who had just died a few months ago. He told about going down to help search and referred the audience to the great New York Times article that I had mentioned in my follow-up post on True's death. Then, rather than taking a moment of silence, which he said was not True's style at all, he led us in his famous celebratory yell that he does at the start of every race he runs.

His presentation was short because he said he did not want to rehash stories from the book. Instead he opened the floor to questions and answers from the audience, so he could talk about the things we might want to know.  As mentioned before, the questions reflected the interests of the audience, everything from questions about training, hydration, and electrolytes to questions about how he makes it through the long runs mentally, to questions regarding his vegan lifestyle and habits. He answered each one fully, patiently, and with a sense of humor. He also answered many questions by referring the audience to articles that he had written in case they wanted a longer or more detailed version of the answer.

He ended the talk by mentioning some of the charity work he is involved with. He gave information about supporting the Caballo Blanco Memorial Fund  to help continue the work that True was doing for the Tarahumara in Copper Canyon. He also mentioned some charity work he is involved in helping get eye surgery for Ethopians.  To help raise money for this, he had some very cool shirts for sale at the event and promised there would  be more available on his site in the future.  He mentioned that although his visit at Playmakers was a free one, many of his appearances are not and that the funds being raised are being donated to the charities that he believes in.

At the end of the event, he did the obligatory book signing that comes with this type of tour. This is another spot where his incredible patience, good nature, and thoughtfulness again shone through. It was already after 9:30 when the talk ended. The line for the book signing very quickly snaked down one side of the store, across the front, and back up the other side of.  As we all waited in line, he popped out several times to remind us of things he had forgotten to say in the talk, but also once to assure everyone that he would stay until the very last book had been signed. That was pretty gracious considering he still had to drive back to Grand Rapids when the event was over.

When signing time came, he took the time to again greet each person individually and to pose for yet another picture. You could tell he really wanted everyone that had come to see him to be happy. When I left, somewhere around 10:15, he was still signing. We took a quick trip over to Taco Bell for a few bean and cheese burritos, and when we drove back past Playmakers, well after 10:30, you could see him through the window, still in their signing.  

For me, this was a really great experience. His personality is even more engaging in person than it is in the book, and I have even more respect for him, not only as one of the best ultrarunners of all time but also as an outstanding human being.  If you get the chance to head out to one of his events to meet him, I highly recommend that you do so. His book tour schedule is listed on his site at http://scottjurek.com/eatandrun/events/.   And, if you have not yet read his book, what are you waiting for? 

                                                                           

Reflections on the Loss of Micah True, aka Caballa Blanco

As many of you probably heard, the ultrarunning community lost one of its more famous members last week. Micah True, also known as Caballo Blanco, who had been featured in the book Born to Run, disappeared last Tuesday while out for a 12 mile training run in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.  His body was found on Saturday. For those of you who aren't familiar with ultrarunning or True's story, one of my favorite bios that has come out in the wake of the tragedy is this article from the BBC.

When I first saw the post on one of my Facebook groups that True was missing, I felt what a lot of other runners probably felt, a little bit of concern, but a feeling that he would be found soon, alright, perhaps with some injury that kept him from getting back sooner. As time passed and he did not come back, I started to feel a deeper sense of foreboding. My thoughts immediately turned to foul play because my brain could not or did not want to process the idea that this highly skilled, highly knowledgeable, and extremely self-sufficient ultrarunner had had a running-related mishap.

Then the news came out that they had found True's body. The reports said that he was sitting in a natural position, with his feet in a stream and his water bottle by his side. An early report in Competitor magazine  (that has since been taken down) said he had abrasions on his knees and possibly a broken finger, but we won't really know what happened until the autopsy results come in. Many regular trail runners took that news with shock, disbelief, and a sense of unease. If someone like True could have an accident like that and perish, what did that mean for the rest of us regular trail runners?

What really shocked me, though, was a line I read in an article today from ABC News. It said that they had found his body "around three miles from where he was last seen." That, to me, was the most shocking information.

Somehow, when I heard that he could not be found and was lost in the "wilderness" of the national forest, I assumed that they would find him in some remote area far from civilization. Three miles from where he was last seen?! That is around a 30-35 minute run for most of us -- or maybe an hour walk if we are hobbling on a sprained ankle. It is less than the distance of my short recovery days.  It is mind-boggling that True could have died so close to civilization.

On a practical level, though, I do understand. Last summer when I had a simple little fall and ruptured my spleen, I was less than a half mile from the trailhead when I went into shock. I was bleeding internally and having trouble breathing. Although I had a cell phone in my pocket, which was still playing music as I was hobbling up the trail, I did not have enough mental capacity to realize that I could use it to get help. If I had not been lucky enough to run into some hikers, I might have collapsed on the trail, probably less than a quarter mile from the parking lot where my husband was waiting. I could have bled to death.

If I had not gotten out of the trails that day, it would have been at least an hour to an hour and a half before my husband came looking for me. Even though I was expected back in about a half hour (I was doing loops back by the parking lot), he would not have worried too much for a while because he knows that like many trail runners I get distracted or intrigued or sidetracked and often don't follow my running plan. I often pop out of the trailhead a half hour or hour past the time I said I would be gone with a smile on my face, excited to tell him about some new trail or adventure.

In fact, like many trail runners, I often wander off for distances and times that are not planned. I also often run by myself. Sometimes I even leave for a run while my husband is gone and don't leave any type of information about where I am going and when I will be back. I know I shouldn't do this, but hey, it is just a short little trail run, right?  I guess True's situation answers that question for us. Until the autopsy is in, we won't know for sure, but would True still be alive if someone had gone looking for him sooner, say like when he was just a few hours late coming back from the run...

Trail runners are an independent and self-sufficient lot. On top of that, one of the reasons most of us run trails is that we love to feel at one with nature. Nature, to many of us, is a companion on the trails. It is easy to forget, as we are puttering down a beautiful trail, that nature is also harsh and unforgiving. One mistake can mean serious consequences. In a heartbeat a nice day on the trail can turn into a life-threatening situation. That is an inherent risk of the sport that we all accept and that most of us will never have to deal with, but obviously some of us will.

True's death shows that it doesn't matter how experienced, how self-sufficient, or how knowledgeable one is, that disaster can still strike. What can someone do? Well there are a few things that trail runners should always do that can make the difference between life and death. One is, obviously, not to run alone. Being a trial runner myself, I know that I will violate that guideline even knowing that it increases the risk. There just aren't always people to run with, and I am not willing to give up the trails except for when I can find a buddy (although I will probably make more of an effort on this one than I have in the past).

The biggest thing, then, is probably to make sure that someone knows where you are going and when you expect to return. If you, like me, are prone to taking a little longer than you plan, let the person know the acceptable amount of time before they should become concerned and take action. I now tell my husband something like "I am going xyz. I should be back in 40 minutes, but it may be as much as an hour and twenty. If I am not back in an hour and a half, start looking for me."  That lets him know how much might be me just messing around doing trail stuff and when there might really be a problem.

Another thing I will change about my approach to trail running is to curtail those little impromptu exploratory runs that take me far from where I said I would be. If any of you read that blog post about the trail lessons learned in Florida, my little outing on the archery range was a good mile away from where I was supposed to have been running, and it was on private property where they might not have even thought to look if I  had come up missing. If I had fallen (and ruptured my spleen again), they would have had no idea where I was. From now on, when I see that new trail beckoning, I will make a mental note and schedule my exploration of it for a future run rather than just taking off on a new trail in a direction I hadn't planned, without telling anyone where I am going.

Just those two simple things, running where you say you will be and letting someone know when you should be back, can go a long way toward saving your life. I know that this sounds so basic, but it is easy to forget safety when running the trails is so much fun.  I know because I am guilty of those types of things myself. 

I am sad and distressed over the loss of Micah True, but he will live on through the pages of the book and in the lessons we can learn, both from his life and from his death. If you haven't read Born to Run, you should, if for no other reason than to get to know this extraordinary ultrarunner so that you can understand the loss so many of us feel. 

Land Between Lakes Race Report

Stage one of my March Madness down!  I successfully completed the Land Between Lakes Trail Marathon. It was a beautiful course and a great day all around for the Michigan runners who came down for the race. One of our group, Melanie Peters, even broke the women's course record for the 60k and got the $1000 award!! (Funny story: People she was passing on the course were saying "Girl, you need to slow down. You need to learn how to pace yourself in an ultra." NOT)

After a soggy day on Thursday, we had a beautiful sunny day on Friday that did a lot to dry out the course. Saturday, race day, was equally beautiful with blue skies and plenty of sun. Temperatures were in the 40s for the 6 am. start time, but as the sun rose, it warmed up quickly and was in the 60s by midmorning. By the finish of the 50 miler, some of the men were coming in shirtless.

This was one of the larger ultras that I have run in terms of number of people at the start. The race has the trail 50 mile, 60k, marathon, 23k, as well as a 10k road race all starting together. The trail runs all consist of loops of an 11.3 mile trail, with road sections to get to the trailhead and from the trailhead to the finish. Luckily this 1.7 mile road section worked to separate people out a little before the trail portion began.

Still the early portion of the trail run was a continuous "conga line" of runners. Passing was possible but difficult in sections. I did a good job of getting myself sorted into a pace that was fairly close to what I wanted to run. However, I did have to do some passing in the first few miles to finally get with a group running the pace I wanted for the day.

The loop itself was almost all really nice single track  of the type that is my absolute favorite. The trail had dried out in most sections and was perfect for running, with just the occasional muddy section to make life interesting. It was not nearly as bad as I was afraid it might have been after Thursday's deluge.

The course had an aid station at the start of the loop and then three more out on the course, approximately every 3 miles. The aid stations appeared to be well stocked, but I was wearing a hydration pack (with Power Ade Zero)  and carrying Hammer gel in a flask, so I only took water from the aid stations during the race.

In the early stages of the race I realized something very important about myself as a trail runner. I really hate running in groups!!  Since I do so much training alone or with one other person, the presence of all those other runners on the trail was a real distraction and almost an irritant to me. If someone was ahead of me, I felt obligated to try to keep up. If someone was behind me, I felt obligated to go faster or to step out of the way, even when the person said they were fine. It really kept me from getting into a comfortable rhythm.

On top of that I had overdressed, which is a problem I have being a wimpy California/Florida girl. I had very wisely worn a short sleeve with a long sleeve over top, anticipating that at some point the long sleeve would probably come off. Unfortunately, at the last minute at the start, I also threw on a fleece vest, with my hydration vest on top. I wasn't a mile up the road before I knew the vest was a mistake, but it was my favorite vest, so I couldn't discard it. I just unzipped it and let it flap annoyingly until I would be seeing Jerry at Aid Station 3 to get rid of it. Basically for the first part of the run I was hot from being overdressed and grumpy about the other people on the trail.

Fortunately the early part of the trail, roughly the first six miles of the loop, was wonderful.  It was just gentle rollers that made the running easy. I also ran into one of my fellow Running Fit Ultra (RUT) team members whom I had not met before, Melissa, and that made the last part of that section tolerable.

After the aid station, minus the vest, I was all set to go. The crowds were thinning, and my attitude was improving. That is when the hills started. Now anyone who knows me knows how I feel about hills: LOVE the downs, HATE the ups (which, by the way, is a bit of a problem for a trail ultra runner). My strategy with uphills is always to pretend the course doesn't have them and then be surprised and indignant when it does. Indignation, a fair amount of cursing, and a lot of angry walking is my hill strategy for ultras.  It also did not help at this point to be passed by my fellow RUTsters, Farra and Melissa, who obviously have a better relationship with hills than I do because I could hear them laughing and talking the whole way up the hills.

The back side of the course has what I consider to be three fairly substantial hills. They aren't California or Colorado hills, but they had most of the people I saw walking at some point (except for Melanie who obviously eats hills for breakfast). The great part for me, though, was that there was a really nice not too steep downhill payoff after each uphill that put me in a better mood.

As I was walking up one of the uphills, I realized that I was approaching two hours and that I had been overheated and sweating profusely, so decided to take an Endurolyte. I had put several in my vest pocket, which also contained my cell phone (in case of another spleen-rupturing fall). As I pulled out my phone to get to the Endurolyte caps I knew I had a problem. The phone was coated in white dust. The first Endurolyte I pulled out was smashed and empty. I had a moment of panic, but luckily the next one came out whole.

I think the Endurolyte was exactly what I needed. As I started the second loop, I began to feel better. Many people were only doing the 23k, so they weren't there for the second loop, and I could really appreciate that section of the course the second time around without the crowds. I even noticed a few wildflowers that were blooming along the course that I had not seen the first time around. 

I was moving along pretty good through that section and looking forward to shedding the long sleeve at Aid Station 3 when Ckat came bouncing along and passed me. Ckat is a friend from my other Michigan running group, Playmakers, who was out there for her first 50 miler. She was looking very fresh (ah to be in one's 20s again!). I was a little worried about her pace, but she seemed happy, so I just wished her good luck as she sped off into the distance.

Jerry was waiting patiently as I popped out at Aid Station 3 for the second time. That was somewhere around 19 miles, and I was really happy to report to him that there were no IT band issues thus far. I was also happy to get rid of the long sleeve, as the temps were now probably in the upper 50s/low 60s with bright sun. I was in a pretty good mood as I approached the hills the second time around. I like loop courses because I think it is always easier when you know what to expect.

Somewhere in the hill section between Aid Station 3 and 4, I started getting nauseous. I hadn't taken in anything different, so I decided it was probably an electrolyte issue. I also started having a few calf twinges, so I took a second Endurolyte. In retrospect, I probably should have taken three over the course of the race rather than two. I will remember that at Green Swamp and probably be better off for it. I was very salty at the end, with a definite coating on my face. It was not as bad as the finishers of the 50 miler, but it was enough to know that I needed the extra electrolytes.

For the latter miles of the trail I was really looking forward to the road finish. There was an uphill coming out of the trailhead area, but I knew there was also considerable downhill to the finish. My legs, which had been so fatigued in the latter part of the trail that I had to walk in spots on the downhills because I was not confident that I could navigate over roots and rocks on the technical sections, were really happy to be back on pavement. I averaged about an 8:10 pace after hitting the pavement and passed 5 people, three of whom were females (two of whom I recognized had passed me earlier on the trail), so I was pretty happy about that.

I finished with a 4:54:03, which was a trail marathon PR for me as a 50 year old, a 24 minute improvement over Yankee Springs in January. I always have various levels of goals going into a race. My A goal here was to finish without being injured (check). My B goal was to be under 5 hours (check). My C goal was to be under an 11:00 pace overall, which I did not do. It was an 11:13 pace. The walking on those hills just killed the average.

Ckat with her 50 mile buckle 

Post race I had the usual calf and foot cramping, along with some new cramping in the groin area. At least this time it was not bad enough to have me rolling on the ground, but it was definitely not pleasant. After the race, because most of the RUT group was doing the 60k or 50 mile, I had time to go change into warm clothes and watch the group finish. If you would like to see a video of the RUTsters finishing, you can check it out on my videos page. One of the best parts was seeing Ckat come in to successfully complete her first 50 miler.

Besides the previously mentioned insight about preferring to run alone, I also learned a few things from the race. One is that the IT problem does appear to be treadmill related. That is a relief because with spring coming I will be off the treadmill by the time I get back from this adventure. I also learned that I need more long runs, plain and simple. Although my weekly mileage has been pretty solidly in the 30-35 range, I have not had enough of the 20+ long runs that will make the ultras comfortable. Finally, I learned that I really do need to get serious with the hill training. That was the plan anyway because the Gnaw Bone and Devil's Lake races are both wickedly hilly.

 

Oh, and for my fellow fans of the bling, here is my LBL race bling. Besides the usual shirt and medal, they gave out a drop bag and my personal favorite, a really, really nice running hat with my name custom embroidered on it! Of course, I did not get the most coveted bling of all, the finisher's buckle. That will be another goal for another year. 

2012 Goals: Bloodied, Boned, Bruised, and Burned

In my previous post on the importance of goals I promised that I would share my current goals. I am at that veteran runner stage where goals are sometimes hard to set. Last year I had thought maybe I would go after my marathon PR, which I still feel has some room for improvement, just because that is what I was used to doing. I even entered a marathon last year. However, it became clear as I was training for the road marathon that I really wasn't enjoying it like I used to. Part of the reason for the DNF I had at that race was that I just wasn't into it -- the training or the racing.

What I was enjoying was the trail running that I started doing last spring here in Michigan. My previous trail running had been in the California mountains, which are absolutely awesome, and in Florida, which is a big, hot, sandy swamp. Although I had loved trail running in California, I did not know much about Michigan and had no idea there were so many beautiful trails.

It was love at first run on the trails up here. The trails are soft, not too rocky (at least not compared to So Cal), and the greenery and wildlife are beautiful. In my mind, trails will always go hand in hand with ultras, so when I decided late last spring that road marathons were not doing it for me, ultras was the direction I turned.  I was entered to run my first trail marathon in August and the 50k at Woodstock in September. I was starting to feel motivated and passionate about running again. Then in July I ruptured my spleen on a trail run -- 4 days in the hospital and 8 weeks of no running. That set me back a bit.

As I was on the couch for 8 weeks, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I really wanted to do in my running. One of those "someday I will" things I have had in mind for almost a decade is the desire to run the Western States 100. It occurred to me, as I watched the year click down toward the big 5-0, that if I was going to ever do that, I better get after it.

You are probably thinking, "Oh, then her goal for the year is the Western States." Well not quite. You see, getting into Western States is a long process. First a person has to qualify. That involves finishing another 100 miler, or a 100k race under 14 hrs, or a 50 mile race in under 11 hours. Once one qualifies, then the runner can submit his or her name into the lottery. The number of entrants is limited to 369, but some of those spots go to previous years' winners and other specially qualified runners, so the actual number of spots is less. The lottery is a long process.  It can take years. If you are interested in the process, you can check out their site.

So, yes, entering Western States is a goal, but it is a 3 to 5 year goal for me. I am not the kind of person who likes to be unprepared. I don't just want to run Western States; I want to try for the silver buckle that comes with a finish under 24 hours. The odds are already stacking up against me because I am getting older even as I type, but I am going to give it a shot. Once that long term goal was set, it was easy to work backwards.

With that in mind, I had to ask myself "How do I get there from here?" The answer is that I need to get into shape to run a qualifying event.  I decided to make it a two to three year plan, depending on how I progress and handle the mileage. This year, 2012, is the year of the 50k. The following year will be 50 milers and 100ks, and the next year 100 milers. I know that seems like a long build-up but remember that I want to "race" these not just finish them, and it takes me longer to build mileage than it used to. I would like to have a year of solid 40 to 60 mile weeks before I attempt the 100 miler.

Then I turned my attention to 2012. What did I want to do with those 50ks. Well I knew the answer to that question immediately. When I heard we were moving to Michigan, I was on the internet trying to find out if there were any running clubs or good races up here, and I came across the Dances With Dirt site. If you have never heard of Dances with Dirt (DWD)  , you really need to go to the site and read a little bit to get the flavor of the whole experience. The Dances with Dirt series is a set of races put on by Running Fit. It is a pet project of their "head goat" Randy Step, who is an awesome guy and a really crazy race director.

The courses are all in places with colorful names: Green Swamp, Gnaw Bone, Devil's Lake, and Hell. The courses range from difficult to absolutely ridiculous, including stream crossings, bushwhacking, swamp crossings, dirt ladders, and whatever other surprises Randy can arrange for his dedicated runners. The best part is that the races are a series: Bloodied, Boned, Bruised and Burned. If a runner completes four ultras in the series within a single year, there is a buckle.

Now, I have mentioned before that I am a sucker for bling. I will run myself nearly to death for a cheap plastic medal on a tacky ribbon, so you can imagine how I felt the first time I saw that buckle. I had to have it. My goals for 2012 were set.

The races in the series go like this: Green Swamp, FL (March 24), Gnaw Bone, IN (May 12), Devil''s Lake, WI (July 14), and Hell (September 22).   If I successfully complete the fourth race, the belt buckle will be awarded at the finish line of my "home" race in Hell.

Here is the plan. My odyssey will start with the DWD Green Swamp, sort of. Actually I fell victim to the FOMO I mentioned in the previous post and have entered a "training race" a trail marathon at Land Between Lakes in Kentucky , which is on the way to Florida, and which will be my last long training run before the 50k. That run is March 10.  My goal in that endeavor will just be to get that long run in at a sensible pace that does not leave me fatigued for the 50k (IT band willing). You will see that I like to use trail marathons as some of my long training runs for the 50ks. It is fun to get those long training runs done with company and aid.

I have a secondary goal that I should also mention. I still love road running and was not ready to completely give it up. I also did not want to lose all my road speed.  The half marathon is my favorite road distance, so I am keeping a few road half marathons in my schedule (Martian and Bayshore). I don't expect to set any PRs at these races, as my PRs at the half are times that I could only hope to reach with dedicated training for that event. What I am hoping for is to establish some "over 50" PRs for myself and maybe place in my age group if possible. Because of that you will notice that there are a few half marathons tucked into my upcoming races. Those are on my "down" weekends for the ultra training, the weekends where I would have run only 12 to 14 miles anyway.

So that is how the next 9 months are shaping up for me. I hope to take you along on the journey by providing video logs and race reports. I have to admit I am a little scared and am wondering if four 50ks are biting off more than I can chew, but only time will tell. 

How about your goals? What do you have planned for the upcoming season? 

Running Movie Review: A Race for the Soul

"These people, every one of them, is setting out on a magnificent experience, that even if they've done it before, it will change their life. I know that the trail and the event has that epicness in it and so few people in our day and age are able to do something epic." ---  Gordy Ainsleigh in Race for the Soul

Mother Nature has just dumped a fresh layer of snow over Michigan, once again interfering with my weekend long run. Although it has been a very mild winter here, it seems like the snow that we have gotten has always fallen when I most need to run long. This means I have spent more time this winter than I would really prefer grinding out long miles on the treadmill. "How do you do that?"  people often ask.

My trick is distractions. One of my favorite distractions is running videos, and my favorite running video is a fascinating and inspirational look at the  2001 WesternStates 100 Endurance Run called Race for the Soul. 

I have mentioned Western States before, but for those not familiar with ultrarunning, let me tell you a little about it. It is a 100 mile race through the Sierra Nevada mountains from Squaw Valley to Auburn, CA. During the race runners climb over 17,500 feet and descend 22,970 feet.  Runners have 30 hours to complete the run, but the goal for many is to finish in under 24 hours to receive the coveted silver buckle. Western States has been called the "Boston" of ultrarunnning, partially because it is one of the more famous of  the 100 mile races and also because it is has a certain aura and romance about it that makes it special in the ultra community.

I first became familiar with Western States while at a running camp when I was a newbie runner and had not even done a half marathon. It was a grainy copy of an ABC Wide World of Sports showing of the 1985 Western States. I had never even heard of ultrarunning at that point and watched the video in fascination. I hadn't even run a marathon yet, but I knew I wanted to run that race someday.

Race for the Soul perfectly captures the spirit of the race and the romance that enthralled me that very first time. It is a 2 DVD set produced by public television station KVIE. One DVD is the actual documentary while the second DVD is 55 minutes of "bonus material," which is footage from various spots on the course that did not make inclusion into the actual documentary. The run time for the main video is 56:46.

The writer, producer, and editor, Brian Harder, obviously had a passion for conveying the essence of the race and the people who run it. The video does an excellent job of focusing on two areas that are key to the ultra experience and Western States in particular: the course and the people who run it.

One of the reasons that there are not a lot of running videos is that races are difficult to film. This is especially true at WS where so much of the 100 mile trail is inaccessible except to the runners. Harder's crew does an outstanding job of filming the course itself. The WS 100 has absolutely stunning views; the course traverses some of the most beautiful country in the Sierra Nevadas. The video gives viewers not only panorama shots that show how far 100 miles really is, but also footage that lets you feel like you are actually out there at various points on the trail. You watch runners padding along single track trail, crossing bridges, stopping at aid stations, and even taking a break to wash off in a cool stream.

However, I think the real strength of the video is in the way it introduces viewers to the runners themselves. You get up close and personal views of some outstanding ultrarunners and big personalities of the sport, such as Scott Jurek (7 time winner), the phenomenal Ann Trason (14 time women's winner), and  Dean Karnazes. You also get to know some of the people that are a fixture of the race itself, such as Gordy Ainsleigh (the founder of the race -- a great story you hear about in the video) and Tim Twietmeyer (5 time winner).

These people are all inspirational, but for me it is also the regular people in the race who are fascinating, such as Dawn Infurna Bean, a first-timer to the race, and  John and Terry Rhodes, a couple who have done the race many times and who met and married on the course and who run the races together.

The stories behind these "regular" runners, people like me, who are testing themselves in this epic adventure are what really inspire and motivate. How can I not finish my 14 mile treadmill run when Patricia Haskins, a deaf runner, is soldiering on after a fall and with her knee all bandaged? How can I give up on this short little run when Lucinda Fisher, a runner in her late 50s, is trying for the 9th time to complete the race?

So, if you are looking for something to help pass the time on those long treadmill runs or something to inspire you to keep reaching for you own dreams, or if you have ever wondered what ultrarunning and 100 mile races were all about, I highly recommend that you watch this video. Here is a short clip to give you a feel for what you will be seeing:

To help make that process easier for you and hopefully to inspire at least one other runner, I am giving away a copy of the Race for the Soul DVD to one lucky blog follower. All you need to do to be eligible is become a "follower" of my blog during the month of February. All followers listed on the site by midnight February 29, 2012 will be eligible.