Voyageur 50 Mile Trail Race

 July 30, 2016

Carlton, MN

I really thought I signed up for this race NOT under the influence of a runners high. I mean shouldn't two weeks be plenty of time after another race to be completely back to normal and sane once again? Apparently not for me. At least not after finishing the Zumbro 50 mile trail race I guess. As this race got closer I started doubting my sanity. 50 miles in the middle of summer? 50 miles including running the infamous POWER LINES not once but TWICE? Once I had signed the dotted line (and paid the money), however, there was nothing to do but train and run.

With vacation scheduled the first week of July my training dropped slightly late June and early July and I went into this race hoping that all the running (and races) I had done in spring would be sufficient. I ran Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon two weeks prior as a training run for this race as well.

The trails had dried out considerably since running Curnow. The huge mud puddles were gone and the stream or creek crossings were smaller.

I drove up to Carlton after work on Friday night with plans to stay in the Royal Pines Motel with friends. I was able to leave work early as I had worked extra the beginning of the week which had turned out to be a very busy and hectic week. I suppose this was a blessing in disguise as I was not able to obsess over my readiness for the race (too busy) and I was able to leave early on Friday. The traffic driving north, however, was terrible and the drive took longer than it should have. I arrived up north about 8 pm. I chatted with some other runners staying at the motel and finally went into the room to start putting together my stuff for an early morning wake up.

The race started at 6 am and I needed to get my drop bag to the start line by 5:45. I found out the gas station next to the hotel was open 24 hours so I was up at 4:30 am and out the door of the hotel by 5 am to be sure I got some coffee before the race.  I arrived at the Carlton High School shortly after 5 am (very short drive) dropped my drop bag off and went inside to check in and try to stay warm before the race started. My Garmin says it was 49 degrees at the start of the race. It was surprisingly chilly at the start but this was a very good thing. Temps were predicted to be mild for the end of July. No rain predicted and in the mid 70's. We could have not asked for better weather for this middle of summer race! I was quite pleased with the predicted weather.

I saw many friends at the start line as we mingled waiting for the start of what would be a very long day on the trails for me. This race allows 14 hours to finish but also includes intermediate cutoff times at each aid station past the turnaround. Cutoff for the halfway point was 7 hours at the Zoo AS which is 25 miles in. I had my pace chart and race plan which basically had me running an overall average of 16:30 minute miles. My goal was to get into the turnaround with plenty of time to spare so I would not be chasing the cutoff's for the last half of the race.

After the race director's instructions we were off at about 6:03 am (these three minutes can be vital to a back of the pack runner!). The start is where I made my first mistake in this race. I did not pay attention to where I was starting out in the pack. I started out too far in the front. I was not thinking where I started would be that important in this race because we had some road and the Munger Bike trail to start on for those faster runners to get in front of me. I guess a half a mile was not enough time for that to happen. We started funneling onto the trail headed to our first AS which was about 3.4 miles in, through Jay Cooke State Park.

Swinging Bridge in Jay Cooke State Park

I was running and feeling good when I hit the swinging bridge. It was enjoyable to run in the cool weather and also to run this section of the trail on fresh legs. This section of very technical single track is normally run on tired legs during the Eugene Curnow marathon so I enjoyed running it for the start of the race. My AS plan was to be out within 30 seconds. Down some coke and grab my food to go. Overall I did very well managing my time in the aid stations.

I left Jay Cooke AS and the next section of the trail is wide cross country ski trail that runs along the river and along the campground. This is where many of the runners behind me started to pass. For the most part I was OK with this until friends I thought would be running my pace passed me up as well. I received a lot of encouragement from these runners as they passed and I just had to keep telling myself, "start slow, finish strong". I believe this will be my new mantra for all races. Or another could be "run your own race, run your own pace". I know what works for me and I am much better off if I stick to a consistent pace throughout the race. I also do better if I position myself towards the back of the start line. I get caught up talking to my "fast" friends at the start line way too often!

Course markings are excellent. It is hard to get lost during this race.

The aid stations are fairly close together for this race. There are 8 aid stations visited once outbound and once inbound and the turnaround AS near the Zoo in Duluth. I carried my fuel and hydration but planned on eating PB&J sandwiches from the aid stations and using my cliff blocks as supplements when I could no longer eat the sandwiches. Turns out this worked well for me. The sandwiches are also something I can grab and go better than other food choices available. I felt really good physically for most of the first half of this race. Hitting roughly mile 11 you start to climb the Power Lines. Running into these backwards was great considering I had never run them this way. I tried very hard to not think about the fact that I would have to run them again at about mile 40. Live in the moment. Or as I was doing just run AS to AS and don't think about what was ahead of that. My time was good and I was on track to get into the turnaround AS in about 6 1/2 hours. This is what I had hoped for. I knew it was too much to hope for anything faster than that.

Stream crossings. A lot less water than Curnow so was able to rock hop and stay dry for most of them.

I ran into Becks Aid station (second to last before the turnaround) which was being manned by Upper Midwest Trail Runners volunteers. I knew a lot of the runners who were all trying to encourage me but I have to admit I had a pretty good negative attitude going at this point, feeling like I was the last runner. They got me what I needed and sent me out telling me I was in good company as they pointed to all the runners just leaving the aid station.

I hit my goal of getting to the turnaround with time to spare and unfortunately was feeling pretty wiped out at this point. I had others runners pass me by that I thought I would stay ahead of and this was not helping with my morale. But I don't quit easily so I spent a few extra minutes in this aid station. I had the Ibuprofen debate with myself. Should I or shouldn't I? I really don't like to take it in the middle of the race and will only resort to taking it at the very end of a race and then only if absolutely necessary. Well I broke down and took some just to see if it would make a difference chasing those cutoffs for the rest of the race. My soreness was definitely not related to any injuries and I was not feeling any specific pain that I thought masking would become dangerous. I had very little time to spare and if I slowed down too much I would never make it.

So I headed out of the Zoo AS and already my attitude shifted to the positive. Out and back races are very hard on me mentally. Being in the back of the pack of all my races I see just about the entire field of runners coming back on me and can't help but think about how much farther they are ahead of me and how much closer they are to finishing ahead of me. I know this is negative thinking but I can't seem to help myself. Once I start running towards the finish line I start to immediately feel like I am making progress. Sounds irrational I know but when I am running these longer races I sometimes lose control of logical and sane thoughts and the illogical and insane thoughts take over. What can I say but that it is a constant mental battle.

I have run the Eugene Curnow race three years now so I know the course fairly well running back to Carlton. At this point it was about 12:30 and it was starting to get much hotter. Running Skyline is in the open and the views are great but there is a lot of sun in this section. I realized that I had forgotten to put on sunscreen that morning but it sounded like too much effort so I just hoped that I would get back into the shade. I managed to not get sunburn so my risk paid off this time.

As I continued on running aid station to aid station I started to slowly pass some runners. I played leap frog with a few but passed others along the way. This time when I ran into the Beck Aid Station I was in a much better mood. I was starting to catch up with a few friends and we ran together for awhile. I don't remember what mile I came upon my friend Gregg but it was just shy of the 30 mile mark (I think this was Beck Aid Station). He had slowed down and was considering dropping at the aid station. He was actually doing great considering he has just been running a year and he was hitting a new time and distance PR. I encouraged him to keep going if he was not feeling too bad as we were still way ahead of the cutoff times and he could just keep moving forward even if that was slowly. He kept up just behind me for quite awhile and I hear he made it 39 miles before he decided he would not make the next cutoff after the power lines. Amazing job on his part!

I finally ran into Seven Bridges aid station and was still about 30 minutes ahead of cutoff with the next section to run: the Power Lines. Wow were these hard the second time around. I was running behind another runner and tried to keep up with him but he got ahead of me in this section. I was struggling going up the Power Lines. I had to stop several times on the way up the steep climbs to catch my breath. We were lucky on this section as there were clouds in the sky and the sun was behind the clouds for most of this section. That was pure heaven considering the effort it was taking to climb those hills! This section started to eat up some of my extra time but I was still doing well and according to my Garmin my average pace was still under the 16:30 which meant I would finish in time.  Again, I concentrated on thinking about the next aid station and not thinking about the climbs I knew were coming even after the Power Lines. I was so happy to be done with this section. Of course just when you think you are done, bam! there are two more very steep climbs! Can't believe they managed to surprise me yet again!

I do remember hitting the Peterson Aid station and thinking to myself that the major elevation climbs were done! I was dismayed to overhear a gentleman telling another runner that there was one more major climb. That burst my bubble big time! Well nothing to do but just get out of the aid station and keep moving forward. I hit that climb and although I was at the cussing stage I powered through and just got it done. The only way to get to the finish line is to just keep moving, even when it hurts right? I told myself I wanted to finish this race within the cutoff time and that I could take one week, maybe even two weeks off running after getting it done! This is what kept me moving at a running pace instead of a crawl.

Finally I managed to run into the Jay Cooke AS. I had filled my hydration pack with water before the Power Lines so I did not need to stop and just kept moving. Only 3.4 miles to the finish and I was on track for finishing within the 14 hours. This section always feels longer than it is with all the roots and rocks that just kill your feet this late in the race. I continued to pass a few more runners in this section and knew I just needed to keep moving as quickly as I could. When I finally saw the gravel hill leading up to the Munger Bike Trail I was ecstatic! And I had about 20 to 25 minutes to run that last half mile. It was a great feeling to know that even if I had to walk this section I would finish. Of course there was no walking allowed in my mind so I just slowly shuffled my way forward. I turned the corner onto the road and there was the finish line. Oh, that's interesting they have a Sheriff handling the road crossing this year. Two years ago I had been at that road crossing helping to stop traffic for the runners. I laughed to myself when I recalled how many runners would come running up and tell me that no way would they be stopping. I felt the same way. How can you possibly ask a runner to stop and wait for cars when the finish line is in sight? Luckily I was able to run my way through the intersection without interruption. I heard someone call out my name from the finish line (still don't know who that was) and then saw Rick Bothwell as I was crossing the road and he gave me a high five as I sprinted (well it was my "I just ran 50 miles on these legs on super crazy hilly trails" sprint) to the finish line. Finishing clock said 13:44 and change. I had made it! And I still had 15 minutes to spare! Wow was I glad to be done running!

I struggled after I stopped running. I had a hard time catching my breath and felt lightheaded and sick to my stomach. Not enough to throw up but I remember wishing I could just throw up so I would feel better. This was the worst I have ever felt after a race and I can only guess it was due to the fact that I had just run my fastest 50 mile race in hot and hilly conditions. I tried to eat the awesome lasagna at the high school but I was just not able to eat much. I was really glad that I had the option of staying in the hotel room another night as I was in no condition to drive home that night. I was able to get a good nights sleep and was somewhat better on Sunday but really did not feel good until Monday morning. It was an interesting feeling and makes me wonder how other runners can run their races feeling sick. I don't think I could do it. I seem to have an iron stomach and I much prefer that to how I felt after this race.

Next race on the calendar is the Goosebumps 24 hour race in La Crosse, WI on September 23/24th. Anyone available to pace me? Some overnight company would be nice. It will be my first 24 hour race and I have yet to set my goals for time on feet or distance during this race.

First, though, I have pacing duties for my friend Janet up at Fall Superior 100 miler. Will be good training for the night running. Plus I just love running the Superior Hiking Trail up north! 

Shoot the Moon Accomplished!

http://www.umtr.net

The UMTR annual Banquet is held in November every year. This is their annual meeting along with the celebration recognizing the various Trail Series achievements. This was the culmination of my season of racing and being recognized for completing all 17 trail races in the series. I went expecting to receive this award along with earning the Overall Women's for the series. This was earned as a result of running in so many races (they only count 8 races, but going to all races I often came in first as no one else in the group was running that race). I am definitely a back of the pack runner and in a large field of competitors will often come in almost last place.What I did not expect was to receive the Trail Runner of the Year award. This I do not feel I deserved any more than many of the other members.

Being presented the "Shoot the Moon" plaque made by Julio

Really Cool plaque including all the races I ran in order to earn it.

This award came with a check by a very generous sponsor, Bill Pomeranke Realty

Being presented with the Trail Runner of the Year Cowbell

Awesome Cowbell award

Plaques were made by Larry

Was actually feeling rather embarrassed at this point. Guess I don't deal with attention so well.

 

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!