Salida Run Through Time Race Recap

I did it, I finished my first trail marathon and I lived to tell the tale.

My goal going into this race was to get in under 6 hours. I had revised my previous goal of 5:30 due to potential weather complications and my lack of confidence in my training. The weather proved to live up to it's forecast. The morning started out dry, with a cloud hanging out towards Monarch Pass. Here's a picture of how things started out:

That guy looks like he's trying really hard to keep up with me doesn't he? It started to "sprinkle" snow as the race continued, but the real snow started once I hit the backside, about mile 10. The snow continued until about mile 18. Back on the front side of the mountain the weather cleared up a lot and it was pretty dry for the 2.5mile sprint back down the hill.

The course was about as I expected. It has about the same elevation change as the half marathon, but spread out over a longer distance. I actually think that the marathon was "easier" in terms of the layout than the half. The half has a lot of steep up and down while to me the marathon felt a lot more gradual. Everyone who had run the marathon before me warned me about "the road". Therefore when I got the road I was ready to take on the challenge. Especially since there was an aid station at the bottom with peanut butter m&m's. As I was filling my water bottle the volunteers asked if I needed anything and I grabbed handful of m&m's and stuck them in my pocket to "take on this hill". The road took FOORRREEEEVVVVEEER.

Literally it felt like it took forever. I think it took me about an hour or so to run it. But I am proud to say I ran it! I ran the whole thing. I was so excited that I was able to do it. There was about 2" of snow on the ground and it was pretty chilly. I was dressed for it, but nothing can really help snow pelting your face. There were some pretty intense rocky sections. For the most part I really enjoyed the course.

I had some knee issues during the race, probably at about mile 15 or 16. I experienced similar pain during one of my long runs. I was on the road so I thought it might be more related to pavement, but I definitely felt it during this race. I had to stop and stretch a few times and walk a little bit just because it hurt so much. It really got me pretty disappointed because I thought it was going to set me back a lot. I kept a mantra in my head during this "all you can do is keep going" so that's what I did. As I came into the last aide station, checked my watch and learned I had 2.5 miles left I knew I just needed to go. I am not sure what happened, but I was able to get in the "zone" and just go. I ended up finishing in 5:32:38.

Having had about a week to think about the race I've come away with some goals and ideas as I prepare for  my next race: Quad Rock. I'm excited that I finished this marathon almost an hour quicker than I ran Quad Rock last year. While Quad Rock is a tougher course, I was really psyched about my uphill work this marathon. The hill repeats have helped a lot with my overall uphill running ability and I think that will translate well into Quad Rock.  With daylight savings giving me more light in the evening, I am going to put in more mid week trail running. But really, but biggest goal is to get in a lot more long trail runs. I think it would mentally put me in a better space for both Quad Rock and War Eagle in June.

I was really excited about my ability to push past some pain and finish the marathon strong. Learning that I can keep going when I feel like I'm unable to is going to make a big difference in future races. I've done it before, but I was able to do it and get to a place where I felt strong again. I know that there are always times in races when you feel less than awesome, but it's a big deal to feel that and then feel strong and able to really kill it in the home stretch.

Salida Marathon - Pre Race

Here's my pre-race entry for the Salida Marathon.

Race Day Details:
Weather - Current high predicted to be 43, winds 10-15mph, 70% of precipitation (2" of snow accumulation possible)
Distance - duh 26.2 (give or take some since it's a trail race)
Elevation - 4750 gain/4750 descent
My goal time - under 6 hours.

Here's the deal, I think my original goal time was 5:30, but I'm revising a bit. I haven't been super confident about my training leading up to this race and the weather is also giving me some concern as far as performance. A lot of it will depend on snow/ice on the trail which tend to slow me down. I'll be happy to get under the 6hour mark for this race.

So for my benefit I'm going to put some things into perspective.

Things I cannot control for this race:
Weather, elevation gain/descent, distance, food available at aid stations, trail conditions, other runners.

Things I can control for this race:
What I wear, fluid/fuel, my attitude.

I can't change the weather, but I've run in crappy weather before. A couple weeks ago we had a pretty snow run at White ranch and I survived with a decent enough time. I can't change the layout of the course, I've got to travel 26.2 miles and I have to travel it in the way the race designates so all I can do is go forward. I can't tell them what food to have at aid stations, but they usually have something I'm willing if not eager to put in my mouth (like a pbr). If there's ice I still have to get past it and to save myself from a bruised butt I might have to walk. There's other runners on the trail and they don't matter because the only person who can finish this race for me is me.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't care what the weather was like. I really do wish it was going to be 65 and sunny without a speck of snow on the trail. I also really do wish I had gotten in more trail runs, longer trail runs, and just more runs in general. Because I know I didn't prepare in the way I would have liked I'm adjusting my expectations. I feel like the hill repeats will mean I can run some of the up hill sections stronger than I may have without hill repeats. I'd like to try and run as much as I can during the race. I know there will be some steep parts where walking will be a faster choice, but I'm going to do what I can to keep tiny footing my way up as many hills as I can. I am also looking to run the last 3 miles strong. The last 3 miles are switchbacks that go down the front side of the mountain (you run up them to start the race). I want to run those strong, even if my body is hurting.

I'm still conflicted about my wardrobe, but I'm sure I'll wear the same outfit I wear in weird/cold/wintery weather. My thicker Backcountry Magazine grey hat (I got it in a raffle), my old black running pants with ample pockets, some sort  of capilene t-shirt under my green/blue long sleeve smartwool shirt with thumb holes (or my purple patagonia with thumbholes if it is really cold.  In addition I'll have some thin liner gloves and my green lightweight jacket. I'm going to choose the warmest option, I doubt I'll have any reason to de-layer. Despite knowing this, I will admit I packed my shorts and capri tights just in case.

My attitude is really the biggest player in the race on Saturday. I am making a decision now that I am going to enjoy it as much as I can. I am going to wear smart clothing so I don't get too cold so the only thing I can focus on is just moving forward and enjoying the time it takes me to do it. I'm also bringing a boatload of Gu's (I have no idea how to pluralize a gu, because it would either be gus or gues....)

Stay tuned for the Post Race Recap next week!

Dealing with Disappointments

Running can be a lot of really positive things, but sometimes you can get really disappointed. There are varying levels of disappointment; a bad training run, some missed days of running, or a bad race. A race day disappointment is usually the one the lingers the most. Why wouldn't it be? A day after a bad training run you're pretty much over it because you've moved on to the next training run. But a race is THE RACE that you were training for and the next day you've got nothing but sore muscles, a t-shirt, and a medal to keep you company. There might be another race, but it's just far enough away to make you question whether or not you can get a refund for your entry fee.

In thinking about why race disappointments weigh on us more than training disappointments I started to think about my mentality going into a race vs a training run. In the training run you are thinking about your work and approach towards a race. Your miles are little nuggets of goodness that you bank, and on the day of the race if you did your work, you have enough nuggets to get you through (and you work hard enough that you use all of them). So if you have a bad day running, those are still deposits into your race day bank account. Sometimes bad runs are even better, because it teaches you as a runner that you can push your body through something and finish. I know I've relied on that at the end of the race, reminding myself how bad I may have felt that one training day and I made it. So a bad day running is just that; a bad day running. You take a shower, you eat some food, you move on.

A race, on the other hand, seems like so much more than just a bad day running. A race is the totality of all your running and training up until that point. So it's not so much a disappointment in a run, it's a disappointment with the weight of months of training on your shoulder. It's not one disappointing run, it is disappointment of all your runs. You question what you did or did not do. Having a bad race hurts more because in our minds we make it a lot more than just about that race. You wonder, did you invest all your foundation nuggets into sub-prime mortgages? In short, it really sucks to think you didn't do all that you could do before a race and you question any missed runs, any runs cut short, or even wonder why you skipped some of the fun stuff to go running.

How do you deal with these disappointments? As runners, we obviously figure something out because we continue to sign up for races and run in the rain so the trick is using the disappointment to your advantage. There are two types of race day disappointments; those you feel after the race and those you feel during the race. I've been "lucky" enough to experience both, and both have translated into something positive here's how:

1. Disappointment at the end of a race...

Let me first say you sort of know when you're going to be bummed at the end of the race. Something in your brain or your body knows that when you finish you're not going to finish in the way you imagined. Last year I ran the Canyonlands Half Marathon. It runs along side the Colorado River through the Canyon into Moab. It is a beautiful race and fairly easy. It is on the road and mostly downhill with a section that cuts through town. It's a great race to get a PR and I think a lot of people go into the race with that mentality. I was super excited to run it well. I had finally broke 2hrs for a half marathon the spring before so I was focused on getting somewhere around 1:50. The weather was so/so, no rain or snow but a pretty heavy wind ripped up through the canyon so that was going to be a challenge. At some points it was so strong I had to literally hold on to my hat to keep it from falling off and disappearing behind me. I didn't feel super well as I got started, but after about 2 miles in I fell into a groove. I was sticking with my pace I needed, even a bit faster so I felt ok despite my body not really feeling awesome. I remember I kept going through waves of feeling fast and great to feeling slow and tired. The last one hit as I came out of the canyon onto the road and it stuck. I knew I was cutting it close pace wise, but it didn't really set in until I saw the clock at the finish line and it was already at 2 hours. I knew I didn't have enough of a "gun time" cushion to even get me under 2 hours so I crossed the finish line feeling really bummed out. At least they had some fun chips to snack on and I nursed some of the disappointment with beers and disc golf in the evening.

At first I blamed the typical offenders - the weather sucked, the wind was really strong and it meant I had to work harder to go forward, I felt crappy to begin with so it just "wasn't my day", and that stupid section along the highway is a pain in the butt. Those are all factors that played into how I did, but I started thinking more about my training. Yes I had a goal of under 2 hours (preferably near 1:50). Yes I ran leading up to the race so I had the miles in. But...on all my training runs I never really made an effort to train for 1:50. I just trained to run a half-marathon. Most runners know that after a certain point you have to switch your training from being "just finish the race" to a goal time. This requires more than just saying your going to run it in this amount of time, you actually need to incorporate that into your training runs. So really, I finished the race exactly how I had trained for it. In fact I probably did a little better than I should have considering I never really trained to run at the pace I did. End of the race disappointments are tough, but they put into prospective what you expected to happen at the end of the race. I know now if I want to hit that time I need to do some pace runs and train to run it that fast not hope I can pull out that fast of a run.

2. Disappointment during the race...

It's really hard to get disappointed during a race and even more so when you have a lot more ground to cover before you can finish. I haven't had to face this feeling at mile 1 of a marathon thankfully, but I have gone through it and I think it's made me a stronger runner, especially with trail runs. I have heard that some people will just quit a marathon if they are no longer on their Boston Qualifying pace. I have no problem with that, we all run for different reasons. I don't think I could ever be that person just because if I've come that far I'm going to finish the race because I at least want to eat as much of the snacks at the end as I can. There are also some races where you don't get your t-shirt unless you finish and I like to hoard t-shirts.

When I was running Grandma's Marathon last year I wanted to badly to break 4 hours. I had been trying to the last couple years only to shave a minute or two off my time. I had done several trail races and felt like I was pretty strong and could do it. I started out with the pacer and was sticking with him for most of the race. But I got to about mile 18 and things started to go downhill. My legs stopped working and I was finding it harder to catch up with the pacer after the water stations. I finally couldn't do it and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep the pace I needed to break 4 hours. I was bummed, and I let myself feel bummed for about 2 minutes and then I kept going. I passed a bunch of college kids cheering the runners on holding out beers in a feeble attempt to get us to take a swig and I thought "what the heck" so I ran over and downed a beer. Once I did that I decided to just have fun the rest of the race and not worry about it. I'd be lying if I said my legs didn't hurt the rest of the way but the 4 hour number didn't seem to bother me that much anymore. I still managed to finish with an identical time from the year before and while I didn't hit my mark I turned the rest of the race into having fun and it worked. Yes I still want to break 4 hours, but sometimes you just got to let it go and drink a free PBR.

My point for all of this rambling is, we all get disappointed at some point running. Whether you're just out there on a Saturday going for a run or you're doing a race. You can plan perfectly for a race and get slammed at the start line with snow/rain/wind/stomach cramps/you name it. Bad races can teach us what we need to do in our training (that we might not see unless we blow up during a race). Bad races can also remind us that it's not all about your fastest time or breaking your PR it's about enjoying yourself for the 1/2/3/4....9 hours you're out running and you don't have to be anyone but you running. You don't have to make copies or fold your laundry. You don't even have to pick up after yourself (unless you're on the trail dude, leave no trace!). It's rare in life that we get that much undisturbed time to be within our selves and only for ourselves and if someone gives you beer along the way; bonus.

Race Update

In my rant against Google and their silly decision to have no way to recover draft emails I mentioned writing an update on upcoming races and mileage. So here it is.

My Mileage has been so/so. I started a new job in December and that threw my running for a bit of a loop. I took for granted the leisurely runs I was able to take anytime I wanted to during the day. But I'm proud to say I've stuck with Hill Repeats and have kept up enough of a running schedule to feel like I'm not too far behind in the marathon training. Which brings me to races:

I wasn't able to do the snow shoe race in January. It ended up being the same weekend as a hut trip. Here's a picture:

It's probably for the better since I had never done a snow shoe race and I was able to instead get out on my new skis. My new skis which are totally awesome and I love them and can't wait to ski on them more.

I made the decision not to do the Moab Half-Marathon nor Grandma's Marathon this year. The Moab race just ended up conflicting with the Salida race and in choosing between the two I wanted to focus on the Salida Marathon as opposed to a road half-marathon. Which is good considering the additional races I've committed myself to.  It was harder to not do Grandma's Marathon. It's such a special race to me for many reasons. But I know I'll be back so I'm not too bummed. I was planning on doing it if my sister had signed up, but we picked a different race instead. Again timing was a big factor. Jeremiah is running a 100 miler at the end of June and we're traveling to Virginia in July for his brother's wedding so a fall trip to Minnesota will be easier to coordinate provided I can fit it into the ultimate season...

Here is why my race outlook for this spring looks like:

Salida Run Through Time Marathon
Distance: 26.2miles
Date: March 9th, 2013
Goal Time: 5:30hours

I'm excited and nervous for this race. I haven't gotten in as much trail running as I would have liked for this race. But I have improved my uphill running via Hill Repeats so that's a good thing. I've gotten in one good 15ish mile trail run and I'm planning on getting in at least 2 more long runs between 15 and 20 miles which will be tough cause they will need to happen in the next two weekends. (news alert, I did get an 18mile road run in this past weekend so that made me feel a lot better!). My goal time may be a little ambitious considering my training, but I'll see how my next two long runs go and may need to adjust. I do think I can do it. My last two half marathon times for this course were in the 2:30hr range so giving myself an additional 30min buffer should be ok. The Quad Rock 25miler took me 6:30hrs last year, but it's a considerably tougher race. I think 5:30 is a good goal, but as long as I can get under 6 I will be happy.

Quad Rock 25miler
Distance: 25miles
Date: May 11th
Goal Time: 6:15hrs

I think this will be a really good race for me this year. Knowing the course now I can anticipate when I can run and when I need to walk. I remember there were some steep sections and it helps to know it and know roughly how long they are so I can feel comfortable walking. I just really like this race and had a blast last year. They had a local brewery at the finish and a bonfire so I am looking forward to hanging out to cheer Jeremiah on as he comes in for the 50 miler. The course will have a different look since they dealt with some pretty gnarly forest fires in the park last summer.

War Eagle Races 50K
Distance: 50K (31.25miles)
Date: June 2
Goal Time: 6:30hrs

So this is my "big race" of the season. A 50k which marks my first toe dip into the ultra running circuit. I know this because when I registered I got an offer to subscribe to ultra running. I'm actually really excited about this race. It was either this one or a 50k in Gunnison and because my sister decided to sign up for the 25k I signed up for the 50k. It's in Arkansas so I have the whole altitude "blood doping" thing to my advantage, but I'm still nervous. That's 5 miles longer than I've ever ran before and at the end of a marathon I could hardly think of running another 5 miles. It's hard enough walking the half a mile to my parents car parked at the Methodist Church. But I've already put the feelers out to people who have done some of these runs to figure out my training and my food intake for the race. Despite what my friend Ryan does, I think I'm going to not opt for the "all gu" nutrition and eat the shit out of some gummi bears and pretzels at the aid stations. I have an ambitious goal time. After the Salida race I may tweak it a bit. But really, my only comparison race is the Quad Rock and Jeremiah keeps saying that one is way harder than [fill in the blank with any race you can think of] so I think this is an ok time to shoot for. I have a while to train and I will have already bagged to long trail run/races before hand at altitude so really...what's 5 more miles between friends?

Running On Vacation: or a devil, another devil, and a demi-god

Running on vacation is hard. Basically anytime you get out of the rhythm of your "normal routine" it is hard to get back. For anyone who struggles with staying on a schedule of regular running, vacation is guaranteed to throw you for a loop. Basically there are three ways to look at running on vacation:

1. The devil on your shoulder
2. The other devil on your shoulder
3. A demi-god (or demon, or idol, or joe bag o'donuts)

The first devil on your shoulder is the one that makes you feel bad for not running while you are on vacation. Of course you don't want to run while on vacation because it is much more fun to sleep in, roll out of bed and drink coffee in your pjs and hang out with your vacation friends/family/or no one. Maybe you'll go shopping, maybe site-seeing, maybe it's been an hour since you last ate so you go eat more. Basically vacations have their own timelines so it is hard to go against that timeline because sometimes you just "go where the wind takes you". You also don't want to be the buzz kill that ruins the vacation schedule because you are going out running. Sorry everyone, that trip to see the brewery sounds fun, but can you all wait 2 hours I have to go running. The devil on your shoulder says things like "you better go running, your family will be around when you get back", and "wow second breakfast, you better run that off later".  If you listen to it you probably miss out on something everyone is doing, or you pass on that 3rd game of wii bowling and a 4th Bells IPA the night before because you have to run 15 miles the next day. But that devil reminds you as you strap on your shoes while everyone else is going to wander around Main Street "go on that run because if you don't you'll feel it at mile 22 in  your next marathon".

The second devil doesn't give a shit if you run, in fact it encourages you not to run. It also wants to roll out of bed and watch that cable TV you don't get at home, those donuts that just appear on the counter from your dad, the craft beers only available in the Central Time Zone. You shouldn't run because you might miss something really really fun. Impromptu air rifle shooting in the backyard, a trip to Town to get food, a visit to some iconic place/statute/brewery. It reminds you that you can afford to miss a couple days of running so you should just live large and really embrace vacation. This devil says things like "why run when you can drink some Growler Beer and play yatzee" and "you spent all this money and time to visit your family/friends/place why do you want to spend it running?". If you listen to it you will probably  have a lot of fun, and maybe a hangover. You will also have a hard time getting back in your groove when you get back home. When you have the small inclination to lace up your shoes that devil reminds you "don't go on that run, if you do you might feel better at mile 22, but what will you miss in the process?"

The demi-god/demon/idol/Joe Bags isn't powerful enough to sit on your shoulder like a devil or an angel. Joe Bags just sort of hangs out and throws out other options. Of course you don't want to spend your whole vacation running, but you also don't want to come back and realize you forgot how to tie your shoe laces. Old Joe Bags says "hey your nephews are taking a nap you could squeeze in some hill work", or "your sister wants to go on a run so you could do that with her". Joe Bags doesn't care how many miles you run, just fit it into when you have time and it works with what's going on around you. Joe Bags never gives you a disapproving look if you have another beer, but he does laugh a little when you slog through a short run the next day because of it. Don't mistake Joe Bags for a softy, if there is a time and a place to fit the run into your vacation he'll remind you of it. But he won't try and manufacture time if it's not there. He'll be there at mile 22 in your next marathon helping you forget the pain in your legs saying "Remember when you visited such and such place, how much fun it was?"

You can really choose which one you listen to. A lot of it depends on what you are trying to get out of running. If you are sponsored by Newton and you're trying to win part of the purse in the next race then you might error on the side of Devil 1. If you still have a long couple months of training to go before your race you might error on the side of Devil 2. But a lot of us run because we like running. We sign up for races because it helps us keep running on days we don't feel like it, we love new shirts, we love to visit new places, or we love hearing 100's of watches beep simultaneously at each mile. Running and training can feel like a job sometimes, so it's not a bad thing to take a vacation from running or just a vacation from a strict schedule. I remember taking a trip to Arkansas before my first marathon for my nephews baptism. The trip fell the weekend the training plan scheduled the long run, the 18 miler. There really was no opting out of that, if you've ever run a marathon you know how important it is to knock out those long runs, especially at the end of your training. But the heat of Arkansas in the summer required the run to start early and it also got me out of having to do picnic party prep. Alternatively, I just went to visit Arkansas again at Christmas and didn't stress out about staying with my running schedule. I was still able to run a couple days and didn't feel like a total dud when I got home. The miles sort of felt like "bonus" miles that I didn't have to do, but got to do.

Missing a couple runs will not ruin your race, nor will a couple of days a marathon champ make. It's your whole training schedule and the totality of the runs you've done. No don't be a total slog and do nothing for 2 weeks just because your on vacation. But you can make your running part of your vacation and if you can you should.

What could have been...

I couldn't wait to finally start adding new posts after such a long hiatus. I started several new posts and in my undying devotion to google figured saving them as a draft email would be the best way to keep them safe and at the ready when I wanted to do a new post. Simply copy, paste, edit and BAM amazing post. Unfortunately...just before I decided to do that I thought I should delete another email draft that was no longer necessary. In my lack of focus I deleted the draft that contained everything I had written...If you want I could just post the now unnecessary carpooling email I drafted and no longer need to send, it mentions Thules and leaving work at 5.

Searching google (on how to fix something I messed up in google) only turned up that once you delete a draft it is gone forever. PEOPLE, THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD THAT IF YOU DELETE SOMETHING ON THE INTERNET IT IS ACTUALLY GONE FOREVER. Not like gone from this thing, but saved somewhere else. Not like "I made this picture on facebook private" but it still makes it way into every nook and cranny of the internet. Not I put my number on the do not call list and still get solicitations via phone. GONE FOREVER. I had some great stuff there...you missed titles like: "Dressed for Success", "Disappointments", "Running on Vacation", and "Hill Repeats".

Here's the thing, stuff in my head is rarely GONE FOREVER so it will all come back. Probably in more coherent, grammatically correct sentences, but losing all that native, unhinged creative juice is a little heart breaking so I need a second to recover.

I've got my work cut out for me. I still need to add all my mileage in from 2012 and what's happened so far in 2013. The Colorado General Assembly started their new session and I have lots of opinions on what's happening with that. There's also skiing and some races I've signed up for and am thinking of signing up for. So I promise you I will get back in the saddle and rewrite my pure genius that Google lost (GONE FOREVER!?). So for the rest of you, keep this in mind next time you "save" something in gmail drafts...when it's gone it is GONE FOREVER!

Snot Rockets

I failed at my weekly run update which should have happened on Friday.  Instead you got an entertaining post about hills.  Here's the recap of last week:

Mileage total for last week (Sunday - Saturday) = 25miles
Mileage total from the week before = 29.5miles
Total Miles since Ultimate season ended = 72.5miles

My mileage totals from last week were less because I mixed in a day of hill repeats.  I don't know what to count that as mileage so I just wrote down hill repeats on my calendar and that's that.

With that out of the way a note on snot rockets. If you have never heard of a snot rocket then you are either blessed with a mucus free life or you don't know any runners. I am more than blessed in the mucus producing department and that production line goes into overdrive when I do anything athletic, especially running. I've been dealing with it pretty well since I normally run outside so I just spit wherever I want. However, the whole snot rocket thing is hit or miss.  And by hit or miss I mean sometimes I miss myself, sometimes I hit my leg with snot. Yes, I'm aware that is gross, but it's helps to get it out that way rather than wait for it to run down your throat. To be honest, my running gloves and sleeves of my shirts are pretty much covered in snot anyways so it all ends up in the wash covered in snot.

My recent issues with snot rockets are my ears. I've always had sensitive ears. Growing up in Duluth my ears would get plugged and pop going up and down the hill. I also have had some pretty horrible plane take-offs and landings due to my ears.  As of late when I do a snot rocket, my opposite ear gets plugged. It doesn't hurt, but it is annoying. I spend about a minute "yawning" to open it up. I end up having to do this a lot during runs because of the above mentioned mucus production issue. Does anyone else have this problem?