See Janet Run...: Race #11/17 Moose Mountain Marathon

Fall Superior Trail races with Rocksteady Running are great events put on by a Race Director who knows what is he doing. Being a runner himself helps him to know what ultra runners really need. This race is considered one of the most challenging races in the US with the Marathoners having a 5,500 elevation climb with three major climbs and lots of smaller climbs in the 26.2 miles.

This race marks the 11th race completed in the Upper Midwest Trail Runners Association trail series. I am closing in on completing all 17 with only 6 races left!

I feel that I went into this race well trained. I had upped my hill training by running hill repeats on Tuesdays out at Barn Bluffs in Red Wing. Would run a total of about 4 miles with a total of about 1,000 elevation climb for each run. I also made sure that I completed my weekend long runs and was able to get in two 20 miles runs consecutive weekends before starting to taper 2 weeks out.

I drove up Friday morning with a friend and we stopped at one of the aid stations for 100 milers that had started their run at 8 that morning. We saw some runners we knew come through the aid station and visited with family and crew members that were waiting for their runners to come through.

We arrived in Lutsen at about 3 o'clock ready to check into the hotel. My room was not ready yet so I dumped my bags in a friends room and then headed over to Caribou Highlands where I would be volunteering at the 50 mile and Marathon check in. I was able to sit down for this so was grateful that I would not be standing on my feet for 3 hours. After helping and attending the pre-race meeting I headed back to the hotel and relaxed for a little while before starting to lay out my race gear for the morning. I wore my compression shorts, 7@7 Mankato race shirt, Buff, compression calf sleeves, fitsock socks, Hoka Trail Shoes and carried my rain jacket. I packed my Ultimate Direction Hydration pack with the bladder filled 3/4 full and the 2 10 oz bottles up front for Perpetuem.

I spent a good amount of time figuring out what my gear and fueling strategy would be. I planned a drop bag at the half way point (Sawbill Aid station) and put extra socks, Gu Gels/Cliff Bloks and more bags of perpetuem to refill my bottles. I also had my Mizuno trail shoes in the drop bag in case I wanted to change shoes midway. I purchased new Hoka trail shoes about two weeks before this race and did not know which ones I should wear. I was undecided what shoes I would start with up until the last minute. I finally decided that I would start out in the Hokas and if they were bothering me would change at the halfway point. I am really glad I decided this as I ended up wearing the Hokas for the full race. I did get two small blisters on the outsides of both big toes but otherwise the Hokas felt great. I changed socks to my thicker Drymax trail sock and that seemed to cushion the blisters and although I knew they were there I was experiencing no discomfort or pain from them.

I am really liking the Ultimate Direction Jenny pack that I bought about a month ago. I like how it sits tight to my body and does not bounce. I am also getting used to running with 10 oz bottles in the front and planned on using these bottles for the Perpetuem. My plan was to drink both 10 oz bottles between aid stations and refill with the powder I put in Ziplock baggies. This worked okay but I think it is possible I should have drank more plain water and backed off slightly on the Perpetuem. I set my Garmin watch to alert me every 40 minutes and this was when I would eat either a Gu gel or the Cliff Bloks. I was alternating between the Gu gel with 1x caffeine and a non-caffeine gel or blok.
This worked very well and I will use this technique for future long races when fueling is necessary.

As always the trail on the SHT was great running. It had rained Thursday up north so we had plenty of mud and muddy puddles to run through. The mud started as soon as we hit the single track trail. The start of this race is on the gravel road to allow for the runners to spread out and not cause a large bottle neck as we funnel onto the trail. There was still a fair amount of walking in the beginning but not as bad as it would have been were we to start on the single track trail.

For the first two miles of running my calves were very tight. I was expecting this to happen and I had been rolling them for quite a few days as they were bothering me. Once they loosened up the running felt really good. I was planning on maintaining an 18 minute lap pace between aid stations. These aid stations were; Temperance AS at mile 7.9/Sawbill AS at 13.6/Oberg AS at 19.1/Finish line.

Start to Temperance AS
I was feeling strong and happy coming into the first aid station. I believe my Garmin showed that I had climbed about 600 ft up to that point. There were no major hill climbs but lots of little ones. Coming into Temperance AS was all downhill while following the Temperance River. I hit the aid station ahead of schedule and was able to refill my Perpetuem. I said hi to a few people and got out of the aid station all within the allotted 18 minute lap pace. I had decided to use my Garmin lap pace feature and hit my lap button as I left the aid station. This was a great way to be sure that I was on schedule and in this case slightly ahead of schedule.

Temperance AS to Sawbill AS (7.9 Miles)
Once I left the Temperance AS we started to climb Carlton Peak. On fresh legs this climb did not seem as bad as I was expecting it. I am sure further into the run this would have been a different story as it was for many of the 50 milers who were at there half way point when arriving in Cramer AS which is where we started our race. I had no trouble maintaining my lap pace below the 18 minutes at all times on this leg. This was good as it allowed me to spend time in the aid station replenishing supplies. Coming into Sawbill I started to feel that a blister was forming on my right big toe. I debated with myself as to whether I would be changing my socks or not. I had already decided that I would continue to run in my Hokas as they were feeling very comfortable and the cushioning was feeling great. I also knew there were bathrooms at Sawbill and was in need of the facilities which I figured meant I was drinking enough fluids. I arrived into Sawbill (the halfway point) feeling good with only slight back pain, a forming blister and my AS plan well in place. I changed my socks, which required sitting down on the ground which is not always a good thing during a race. My feet started cramping immediately upon sitting down. I changed my socks quickly and replenished my supplies from my drop bag. I was able to get out of the aid station at around 17:30 lap pace. As long as this was under 18 I was happy.

Sawbill AS to Oberg AS (13.6 miles)
Coming out of Sawbill with fresh socks I was still feeling strong. I knew that the major climbs were coming but tried to think only about the immediate trail. There were several climbs in this leg which included Britton Peak and Leveaux Mountain. Not as steep as the impending Moose and Mystery Mountain but hard in their own way. We were still encountering lots of mud on the trail and I powered through the mud puddles as I have learned in past races it is sometimes better to run through the middle rather than trying to skirt the mud. At around 17 miles the leader in the 50 mile race passed me by. I knew he had to be a 50 miler as he was running fast, unlike the 100 milers I passed during the entire race.

Oberg AS to Finish Line (19.1 miles)
I came into Oberg still feeling strong but as always towards the end of a race no matter what distance I was ready to be done. I was still under the 18 lap pace time so started to feel like I might come in ahead of the 7:52 goal time. Oberg was an awesome aid station for me as one of the volunteers offered to fill my water bottles and helped me get out my perpetuem baggies and even helped me pour them into my bottles. It was great not needing to take off my pack and someone helping me to get into the back pockets. I grabbed a pancake off the table (suppose to be chocolate chip but I must have grabbed the plain pancake!) and headed quickly out of this aid station. These last 7 miles are the roughest on this course. First you climb Oberg Mountain and then after descending Oberg you hit Moose Mountain. This climb includes stairs and is very vertical. While climbing I was using my hands on my legs to climb and also had to stop a few times to catch my breath. I was wondering why my biceps and forearms were hurting and not until Sunday did I realize it was as a result of the way I climbed the mountains on this course. I tried to run as much as possible on this leg but started to fall behind the 18 lap pace. It climbed up to 20 at one point but I was able to bring it back closer to 18 as I descended Moose and Mystery Mountain. I was able to run the flats and downhills for this part of the race and felt good about this as I was nearing the marathon distance with feet that were not burning as they did at Eugene Curnow race. I feel this is really due to the cushioning of the Hoka's and have decided I will continue to run primarily in my Hoka shoes.

I crossed the Poplar River running strong and other than the hill to ascend was making good time. When I hit the road I noticed that my total time was around 7:25 and began to wonder if I could pull off a sub 7:30 race. This section on the road feels longer than it should be with a slight incline so watched as time seemed to move very quickly and I realized I would not make the sub 7:30. I did finish with a time of 7:31:26 and gave that last extra push to try to not hit 7:32 on the clock. I did much better than I could have hoped on this run as the 7:52 time was my A goal and anything over 8 would be my B goal.

This was a challenging race but one I would definitely run again. I did not want to take too much time taking pictures but did manage to get the following pictures of the trail.