Race #17/17 The Great Pumpkin Chase 10k

This was the last and final race in the Upper Midwest Trail Runners Association Trail series. This was my 17th race completed in the series. If you have been following my race reports you will see the first one started with Zumbro 17 mile in mid April and ended on October 25th with this nice and easy distance of a 10k trail race in Lake Elmo Park Reserve.

I arrived at the race early for packet pickup. One nice thing about fall races is that they start later in the morning so I can get more sleep! The weather was nice with no rain. This fall has turned out to have some really good weather on race days for me.

We gathered UMTR members and took our trail series race group photo. Smaller turnout at the race than some of the larger races but still a good representation of members. I am sure there were other members that were not in the picture.

Janet, Stephanie, Mike, Rick and Nora

Our course was to be two loops of the cross country ski trails. The second loop was actually a reverse of the first loop which was nice as we were able to see other runners, both in front of and behind us.

I really had no goals for this race but to run it at my best pace of the day. With 17 races this spring/summer/fall I did not want to push myself too hard. I was able to maintain a good overall pace for a  trail. There were very few hills and they were more like rolling hills. After having run this course I would like to come back to do some classical cross county skiing on it this winter. I did walk some of the steeper hills but ran the majority of this race.

The finish was a nice downhill sprint to the end. Much better than an uphill finish! Being the last race of the series I found myself thinking too much about how many miles I had left to go. Knowing that this finished my goal of "Shooting the Moon" I found myself counting down the miles to completing that goal. As Mike mentioned sometimes running these shorter races seems harder than a 50k race. I can agree with this as it takes my body a good 3 - 4 miles to really warm up and by then the race is just about over! I also run at a much faster pace in the shorter races as is to be expected.

Down one more hill and it is done!

Sprinting to the finish line. Well it felt like a sprint to me!

Finished!

Waiting for Nora to come in. Happy to have accomplished my goal for the season!

Traditional Nora and Janet picture at trail series races.

Even though I set out with no goals for this race I managed to set a new 10k PR. My finishing time was 1:04:50. My previous PR for a 10k road race was 1:06:39 set in October 2012 which was actually my second 10k race.

Race #16/17 Wild Duluth 50K

Saturday, October 18, 2014

This was the second to last race of the trail series. The required race was the Harder 'N He!! Half Marathon but I decided to take the risk and run the 50k instead. I ran the Half Marathon last year and wanted to step up the distance for this race. Plus it has been several months since my last 50k and I was itching to run another ultra.

I decided to go up to Duluth on Friday night and a running friend offered to let me stay at his house so that I would not have to car camp. I accepted the offer gladly as I was not looking forward to sleeping in my vehicle in 30 degree weather. I took half the day off Friday and headed up to packet picket early that afternoon.

The drive up was beautiful with the changing colors still visible on the trees. I drove up with Mike, who had offered to run with me for the entire race. I couldn't afford a DNF this late in the trail series so looked forward to having company on the trail for the entire race. Plus it is just more enjoyable to run with others on the trail than to spend the entire day running alone.

We stopped at the start of the race to get a feel of what the first part of the course would be like. This years race began at Chambers Grove Park in Fondulac, MN on the double track bike trail. It is a nice trail and makes for good trail running. 

Chambers Grove Park checking out the course start

Hiking in on Friday night to get a feel for the start.

After we hiked in about a half mile and back out again we headed to Superior, WI to pick up our host, David,  and head back over to the packet pickup. We also planned on meeting others for dinner at Pizza Luce in downtown Duluth. We had a good crowd at dinner (about 12 of us) and I treated myself to a veggie lasagna. One of my favorite foods that I don't really eat anymore. It was quite heavy but tasted very good.

We got back to David's house in Superior not too late and started race day preparations before trying to get some sleep. I had my alarm set for 4 am. We had decided to see the 100k racers off at Bayfront Park that morning at 6 am before catching our bus to the start line at 7 am.

Our bus had many UMTR members riding and we also caught up with Melanie who we were going to run with. She had posted about this being her first Ultra so I offered to start the race with her.

UMTR Group Photo before the 50k race start

I had agreed to take the UMTR banner group photo before the race. Once that was taken care of we milled around at the start line waiting for the race to begin. It was a little chilly with the temps being around 38 degrees. It was predicted to get in the upper 40's that day for a high.

Sheila Johnson Coffey and I trying to keep warm!

Start line race director briefing.

 After the race briefing we were off. A short loop around the circle drive and then up into the bike trails. As with most races the start often starts with a bottle neck but considering the first part of this race was uphill I was not that disappointed with needing to walk as I would have walked up the hill anyway. Once we got further into the trail we were able to start running. I did not get a picture but with the switch back trail it was a neat sight to see a line of runners working their way up the hill along the trail.

As with most of my other races this summer my calves were really tight for about 4 miles at the start. Nothing really helps to get them loose but just to run through it. Once they loosen up the running is good. This race start was extra tough as it is tough to climb with tight calves. Once my calves let loose the running started to feel good.

Congo line of runners on the bike trail.

We had a good time talking and taking pictures along the trail working our way up.

Back side of the power lines

With the different course this year they included a small section of the power lines that Eugene Curnow and Voyager ran. When I heard that we would see the power lines I did panic slightly. It was not as bad as I thought though and we really only climbed one or two inclines. Nothing compared to the climb during Eugene Curnow race.

Spectacular view at the summit of the power lines.

Descending a section of the power lines.

I found the first half of this race to be challenging as I was feeling tired and slightly wore out. My body was not cooperating and I was just waiting to hit the comfortable running stage. Took me several hours to get to that point but felt much better for the second half of this race. It is almost as if my body takes that long to figure out that I am not going to give up. It was a gorgeous day to be out on the trails and the weather was perfect.

My plan for this race was to maintain an average of an 18 minute pace. Well actually that was worse case scenario as I was hoping for better. With my rough first half I realized that the 18 minute pace was realistic for this course. This pace included the aid station stops as well. I have been trying to keep the time spent in aid stations to a minimum so that I continue moving forward at all times.

I had a drop bag at an aid station around the half way point (Magney-Snively). Here I would refill my pack with gels and Perpetuem for my 10 oz bottles. I set out to consume a gel every 40 minutes and drink at least one 10 oz. Perpetuem bottle between aid stations. I found this combination of fueling to work very well at Moose Mountain Marathon. It worked well for this race also.

Mike, Melanie and I enjoying the view

Mike

Melanie

This section of the SHT includes lots of these stairs on the climbs

Lots of River Bridge crossings. Glad they were bridge crossings and my feet stayed dry.

Melanie and I

Climbing Ely's Peak

Ely's Peak with all the rocks.

Overlooking the Lake as we are coming closer to the finish line.

After leaving Spirit Mountain Aid station I started feeling much better and was able to pick up my pace. It was at this aid station that the first 100k runner passed us on his way to the finish line. The second place runner was about an hour behind him and we fully expected to be lapped by him.  As it turns out we were only passed by one 100k runner and we were able to outpace any of the others. I had been doing lots of hill training this summer so have definitely improved my ability to run more efficiently downhill. As we kept going we realized that Melanie had fallen further behind and we could no longer see her on the trail. I was looking to make up the time lost on the first half of the day so wanted to achieve some negative splits to see if I could make my goal of a 9:12 race.

Mike and I at the top of Enger with the Peace Bell. Had to stop quick to take a picture!

I was looking forward to the last climb to the Enger Tower. I knew once we made it to the bell the running would be all downhill after that. This is where I hoped I could make up lots of time. I cruised down the hill toward Bayfront Park and the finish line and was able to pass quite a few runners on these last few miles.

I finished this race feeling tired but feeling good! This was my fourth 50k since a year ago last September and while it is a tough race I would run it again.  I just missed my goal of 9:12 but finished in 9:23 so was very close. Maybe next year I can do better. I am glad that I bumped this race to the 50k and had a great day out on the trail after working through some issues on the first half of the race.

50k Elevation Chart

Next up is the last and final race of the UMTR Trail Series. I am very excited that it is just a 10k and a local race!

Race #15/17 Big Woods Half Marathon

This was the second time I have run Big Woods Trail Run. The first time was 2 years ago and it was my first trail run and also my first 10k run. That year it was rainy and cold.

This year the weather was excellent. It was a sunny albeit cool autumn day and perfect running conditions.

Driving to the race.

I had two weeks off from racing although I still completed the Saturday long runs in preparation for my next race which is a 50k on the SHT.

I got to the race quite early. I decided to wear my Ultimate Direction hydration pack with the bladder even though I knew it would be overkill.  I have gotten used to not having to stop at the aid stations for fluids and did not like the idea of carrying a handheld bottle for the Half Marathon distance.  As expected I saw very few people carrying water as the aid stations were no further than 3 miles apart. Felt slightly awkward but decided my comfort was more important than fitting in with the crowd.

Met up with the usual suspects before the race started. Saw Nora, Rick Stevens and even Wally Goetl and we chatted at the start line.

Nora Compton and I at the start line

This race starts out with the first mile on the roads before entering Nerstrand State Park trails. That road mile is downhill at the start and then of course uphill at the finish. Being downhill and on roads I of course started out with a pretty fast first mile around 10:30 pace. My goal for this race was to average 11:27 which would bring me in at 2:30 or under.

As I was running the roads I came upon some running friends from Red Wing and decided to run with them in the beginning. They were running at a nice (albeit fast) pace but I knew after we split I would slow down.

My calves were quite tight for the first 4 miles of this run and I started to wonder if they would ever loosen up. They did eventually and I was able to settle into a comfortable pace.

I ran with these ladies for around 10 miles, leap frogging as they followed a run/walk plan

There were many leaves down on the trail which is one feature of this trail run that everyone warns you about. It hides many roots and rocks on the trail and a lot of people end up falling. I was lucky enough to not fall once. I attribute this to all the time I spend running the trails both on the Superior Hiking Trail and also places such as Afton State Park.

Sun Shining through the trees. Benefits of running in the woods is that the trees block the direct sunlight so no sunglasses needed.

Sun Shining through the trees

This race has very few hills for the first 6 miles. The first major hill happens at mile 6 which is preceeded by a downhill section which I took advantage of by running down with reckless abandon (well not exactly reckless but at an accelerated pace). Gotta take advantage of the downhills to make up for walking the hills.

I knew the course was fairly flat compared to many of my other trail races but the hills are still walkable hills for me. There are really only two major hills (mile 6 and about mile 8?). When I hit the first hill my pace was slightly better than my goal pace which is a good thing as mile 6-9 were slower than the goal pace as a result of these hills.

The funny thing about having so much flat trail is that I feel like I need to run. My hips started to feel the effects of this around 11 miles or so. I was still leap frogging with the ladies that were using the walk/run method. On the flats I was trying to stay running but did end up walking just a little.

The last aid station (and the first aid station) was sponsored by Break the Stigma Project. I stopped for a quick picture with Julio and then continued on my run

As you pop out of the trail the last 1.25 miles are ran on the roads. This is my least favorite part of this race and this year proved to be no different. You can see the church and yet you have about a mile of uphill road to run before getting to the finish line. At least this year it was not raining and the wind was minimal. It was still a tough mile and I really wanted to walk. I did break down and walk for a few seconds but otherwise forced myself to continue running even if at a slower pace. The two gals I ran with were right behind me. They passed me up and then encouraged me to finish with them. I think this helped me as I would have slowed way down otherwise. I even managed a sprint, even though it was not a very quick sprint, when I turned the final corner for the finish line.

The long uphill road to the Church and the finish line.

 Although my Garmin did not register a full 13.1 miles (I had 12.87m) I finished this race with the chip timing of 2:28:24. Overall 162/193, Div 25/37, SexPl 67/90.

Next up is Wild Duluth 50k (I bumped up from HM distance). Only 2 more trail series races to meeting my goal of Shooting the Moon with Upper Midwest Trail Runners Association.