Race #2/17 Chippewa Ice Age 50K

It was a great day to be out on the trails. The weather was perfect for a day of running the trails. Sunny and about 40 degrees. I went into this race very anxious. Four months of training for my third 50k. I would like to think that all those miles on the snowy/icy trails out at Lebanon Hills helped me to have a very good race.

I drove with another trail running friend, Pam, and her husband Andy to the race. This was nice in that I did not have to find my own way to the race.  Knowing the lines at the Porta Potties are always long at the race start we stopped at the gas station a few miles from the start. We arrived with plenty of time to pick up our registration packet and even get our picture taken with some of the UMTR members running that day.

Even though I know better I started out with Pam towards the front of the start line. Within the first few miles I was passed by lots of runners but this was to be expected as I should not be starting toward the front. I was mentally prepared to be passed by many as it has happened to me many times. The first part of this race starts with going down a very large hill which is happy to greet you again at the end of the race as a very large hill that you must go up in order to finish.

Mile 2 of the race. Happy to see a friendly face. Photo by Les DuCloux

My race strategy was to run the flats and the downhills and walk up the hills. I figured I would get enough walking as the course included may 100-200 feet hills. The trails were mostly dry with more than a couple areas that were muddy and wet. Walked around a few of these areas but still got wet and muddy. I also planned on spending very little time at the aid stations to try to make up for my slower time on the trails. First 2 aid stations I just refilled my water bottles and ate mostly just bananas and peanut butter jelly sandwiches. I had my supply of fig newtons which is where I wanted to get the majority of my fueling from. I was counting on heed at the aid stations so was surprised when the drink for the day was gatorade. I had not trained with gatorade so was leery to be drinking it too much. I had one of my bottles filled with 1/2 gatorade and 1/2 water.


After leaving aid station 2 at the 10 mile things went well for a few miles, although this was the part of the trail with the most mud. Once I was about 2-3 miles from the halfway point the returning runners started coming through. We were supposed to yield to the returning runners so this really messed with my rhythm of running and walking the hills. I would say this final section out to the halfway point was my lowest point in the race. I did enjoy seeing my running friends Pam, Mike and Sarah on their return trip. It was at this time that I started to feel some discomfort on my toes of the right foot and was not sure what was happening in my shoes. I was very relieved to make it to the aid station as I then knew I would no longer have to yield to the returning runner.

I made it to the turnaround aid station at 11:45 with only about 15 minutes to spare until the cutoff time. I located my drop bag and debated for way too long on whether I should change my socks. I was afraid of what I might find and wondered if it would have been better to not know. Now I am glad I did as I had hole in my sock by my big toe. Change of socks became necessary and it fixed my feet right up. I was glad I had brought the mini can of Dr. Pepper as it tasted very refreshing and perked me up. I broke open the bag of Pringles and munched on those after leaving the aid station. Total time in the aid station was 15 minutes which was too long.

I had a few runners pass me by after leaving this aid station but not many. I found myself running alone for the second half of the race. I popped in my mp3 player and found this a welcoming distraction at this point in the race. I had found a resurge of energy after the halfway point and felt great running to the next aid station at mile 21. This section was mostly downhill. Had a few near misses for falling on this section but otherwise I felt great. I started to pass runners and I think that actually gave me a needed boost. It is not often that I get to pass runners in a race. Coming into the aid station I saw Karol whom I had met for the first time last year running the 10K at this race. It was nice seeing a friendly face.

Leaving the 28 mile aid station I knew that this race, while most likely not a PR race for me, was definitely doable in 8ish hours. I gave myself permission at this time to just continue on and not worry about my time as long as I was continually moving forward. After that final aid station with only about 3 miles to go I fell on the trail after tripping over a root. I could feel my right foot got wrenched a little bit but not bad. Just an extra niggle that was not there before.

The last three miles was rough. I had not remembered that the first 3 miles of the race were mostly downhill in the woods. I was cursing these hills as I was so close to being done. I was glad to finally break out of the woods and catch a glimpse of the finish line with still 1 or so miles to go and the thought of that last final hill. Wow, I don’t remember that hill being so long. I remember the steepness but not the length of it. I finally hit the top and saw some more familiar faces as I turned right to finish up my 31 mile run. I glanced at the timer and noticed it said 7:54 and picked up the pace as much as I could to make sure I crossed the finish line before it ticked over to 7:55. I completed it in 7:54:17. New PR for me. Not by much, only seconds but I am still counting it.

There were several moments during this race that stuck out to me.

#1 Seeing my favorite people on the trail as they were returning to the finish line and I was still heading to the turnaround aid station; Pam Wright, Sarah Potter (even got a hug!) and Mike Madden.  I tried not to let the fact that I was still headed to the half way point and they were several miles ahead of me put me into a negative place.

#2 Seeing a friendly face at the 21 mile aid station that I was not expecting; Karol Roseman

#3 Being able to pass runners on the second half of the race. This was quite a boost as I am so used to getting passed all the time.

#4 Not feeling any pain other than the normal aches and pain associated with running such a long distance.

#5 Knowing that I ran the entire race by myself. Sure, there were many other trail runners on the trail, but I was able to run all 31 miles without needing to stick with any particular runner to keep me company. This is quite a boost to my confidence level as I love to run with others on the trail but now know that if necessary I can do it solo and be just fine.  

#6 After finishing the race all my friends were waiting for me at the finish line, but most importantly Pam's husband Andy, had brought my bag to the finish line from the car. This was just so awesome as after running 31 miles the thought of walking any distance to the car to get my bag for dry clothes to change into is not pleasant. I think only runners truly understand the significance of this.

 

Race #1 of 17; Zumbro 17 mile Trail Run

I function best when I have a plan and I am well prepared for what is coming. As with all my long training runs over this last winter my first step in being prepared is to put together all the gear needed the night before.  While I was waiting for my husband to get home from work (so we could go out to dinner with friends) I decided it would be smart to use that time putting together my gear for the morning. The hardest part for me in this process (especially at this time of year) is figuring out what I should wear. With a 60% chance of rain in the morning I figured there was a good chance that things would be wet. 

With that in mind I decided to wear the following:

Capri’s
Short sleeve shirt
Calf sleeves
Thin wool socks
Gaitor’s (turned out to be ineffective when trails are wet)
Thin jacket
Rain/wind shell
Chester Woods cap
Winter hat over the Cap (removed after it stopped raining)
Sweat/Headband
Mizuno’s trail shoes

After all this is decided I normally throw in extra gear for just in case I decide at the last minute I need something different. This usually means several different hats and gloves at this time of year. And this time I remembered to pack a change of clothes for after the race as I wanted to hang around and visit with others. 

I try to get a good night sleep before a race but most times I fail at this due to the anticipation of the race and getting up early. In this case I was also thinking about the 100 and 50 milers who I knew were already out there running.  Being a more local race for me and a later start time than most of my training runs I was able to sleep in until about 6 am. For most of this winter I have been running by that time so it was nice to sleep in.

I got up that morning and followed my normal morning race routine which includes coffee and an egg breakfast burrito. I was on the road by 7 am expecting to arrive at the start line around 8 am. As I drove it rained the entire time. I was excited to be racing so told myself that I was not going to let the rain get me down. I arrived at the start line and there were already a lot of cars parked. I ran my way to the check in area while it was still raining. After getting my stuff I hung around under the shelter for a bit. They asked us 17 milers if we would wait in our cars until 8:50 as things were getting crowded and this was an aid station for the runners coming in to start their next loops. I needed to get into my race gear anyway so I headed back to the car to wait.

At 8:50 I headed back to the shelter to listen to the pre-race announcements. I found myself standing next to Leia so when John announced that we would head out to the official start line I was swept up with the front of the pack runners. I am a back of the pack runner so this was not a good place to start. 

Looking down at the start line/campground

We were off and immediately had to start running through massive puddles to get to the trail. There was a back up of runners to get onto the trail and I fell in line with all the runners. The trail begins with a 300 foot climb on single track trail. The trails were saturated at this point and very muddy and slick. This climb involved using the various trees as leverage to climb our way up without slipping and sliding our way back down the trail. I let others start to pass me but in the single track that was harder to do. Once we hit a wider part of the trail it seemed like everyone passed me by. This is Why I do not like to start toward the front with all the other fast runners. It can be detrimental for my self confidence as I watch all these runners pass me by. 

Summit of the first climb

During the next three miles I settled into my place in the pack which is pretty near to the end of this particular race. At one point as I was trudging through the puddles and mud Mike overtook me.  He mentioned that Nora was further behind and they had started the race together. I kept going and mostly ran this section by myself. It was in this section that the mud sucked my right shoe off my foot. I had to go back to retrieve my shoe which was deeply entrenched in the mud. My gaitor stayed on my foot. Not sure why I bothered to wear my gaitors as they were useless against the water and mud.  I found myself laughing out loud at the absurdity of the mud and puddles that I found myself running through. I had no idea at the time that the rest of the trail was in the same condition if not worse.

At aid station 1 I met up with Melissa and we ran out of the aid station together and traversed the next few miles leap frogging our way through the water and mud. At some point before aid station 2 a few runners ahead of me started running back wondering if we were still on the correct trail as they had spotted a flag on a tree on the wrong side of the trail. I did not think that the flag was trail markings for the race and as Kelly came running up to us she confirmed that we were on the right trail. I was happy to see Kelly and asked if I could run with her for awhile. We ended up running the rest of the race together.

 

On many of the hills the mud was quite greasy and slippery and we had to be careful not to slide our way back down the hill. The most difficult sections of the trail included going down the hills where we were literally using the trees along the trail to make our way down without falling or sliding down the hill. 

The trail had many puddles such as this and we tried to run alongside the puddles rather than through them as the water was very cold. It was very tough going as the mud along the side of the trail was very slick, deep and sticky. The goal was to stay upright and not lose our shoes to the mud.  

Kelly and I proceeded to run the trail at a comfortable pace walking when the conditions were too rough to run. In hindsight I should have just ran through the puddles rather than trying to skirt them to stay out of the water. The water would have been easier, albeit wetter for my feet, than sliding all over. 

After leaving aid station 3 we had to climb the ridge to reach another summit before descending down Ant Hill to get back to aid station 4. This section was very challenging as the trail was a single track cut very deep into the ground which made for some deep puddles to trudge through. Once I hit Ant Hill I actually found that much easier to descend than other parts of the trail. I cruised down Ant Hill and was pleased with how fast we got down to the bottom only to realize that we needed to run the long gravel road to get to aid station 4. The long, flat gravel road is surprisingly difficult to run. I had to stop to walk for a minute but was then able to run the entire section with a pace of about 11:30 which was fast compared to what our pace on the trail had been. At aid station 4 I used the porta potty, ate some Peanut Butter and jelly wedges and started on the last leg back to the start/finish line.  Kelly likes to get in and out of the aid stations very quickly in order to make up her extra time going slow on the trail. I will need to utilize this technique in some of my races this summer that have challenging cutoff times for my pace. 

When we reached the camp ground and the last ¼ of a mile of the race I was happy to see the finish line looming. Kelly picked up the pace and I dug deep to do the same. I finished the race in 4:54 right behind Kelly. This was longer than I had thought it would take me but considering the conditions this was not too terrible. Nothing hurt while running this race and I actually had fun despite the rough trail conditions. Overall I finished this race feeling very good about the run.