NorthFork 50k

It's hard to believe the NorthFork 50k is on Saturday. In years past I would probably be in full on freak out mode right now but leading up to this race I've been eerily calm and confident. When people ask how long a certain race is or how long I went on a training run I always feel like I have to "qualify" it if I'm not doing the longer race or run. How far is your race this weekend "It's just a 50k". yes I realize how silly saying "it's just" sounds when it's a 50k. Perhaps, going back to a previous post, I am still at a point where I have difficulty celebrating myself.

I've been in this position before, a week before a race, but this time I know what to expect for the most part. I know there will be moments of pain, moments of joy, moments of doubt and moments of confidence. I know all the trails, I know all the climbs, I know it gets hot out in the burn area and that there will likely be a thunderstorm at some point in the day. I also know I can finish, all I don't know is how I'll feel getting to the finish.

One of my biggest goals for this race is to conquer the food demons that plagued me a year ago in the 50 miler. While I won't be pushing myself to the same limit as I did then; 50k is still ample opportunity to have some major nutrition disasters and I want to mitigate that as much as I can. I ordered a big box of Raw Revolution bars and am planning on cutting them up like gummies and eating them along the race course. I've already got a few pickles in reserve that I am going to put in my drop bag at the Buffalo Creek aid station (we pass through it twice on for the 50k). Here's what my nutrition plan is looking like:

Stuff to carry while running:

• raw revolution bars
• sour patch kids
• gels (just in case of emergency)
• honey stinger or GU gummies (whatever is cheapest)
• nuun
• salt pills

Stuff to put in my drop bag:

• sour patch kids
• pickles
• protein (either hummus or tempeh wrapped in a cabbage leaf)
• nuun
• peanut butter cups
• honey stinger waffles

The aid stations have a lot of other items to supplement what I'm carrying (chips, M&Ms, sandwiches, ice, etc). I decided against doing the enduralite powder I used last year. That did not sit well with me and I haven't been training with it. I have been using nuun (both running and ultimate) and it's felt really good tummy wise. I learned my lesson with the pickle shortage last year and I'm sure they will taste awesome at mile 24.3. 

The weather is shaping up to be nice. Highs in the 70s, chance of an afternoon thunderstorm, but not to bad. I'm sure it will still feel hot but 70s is a lot better than 90s, especially when there's shade!

Other than nutrition, I do have a time goal for this race. My first 50k, Sageburner, was a tough one. I came in at 7 hours and 15 mine. I think I can get under 7 hours this go around. I have to figure out what that means splitwise during aid stations, but I think I can do it. I've run these trails so many times and I've got some good hard trail runs under my belt leading up to this. My achilles is feeling ready so all that's left is to lace up the shoes and go. 

I know some people (cough cough...mom...cough cough) are worried about me. My 50 mile experience does not inspire a lot of confidence. The Vegas odds might be in favor of me exploding on Saturday. To rest my critics, and the voices in my head, I feel a lot better prepared this time around. Not just because it's not 50 miles, 50k is not something to take lightly, I feel like I learned a lot from last year and have put in a lot of time figuring out how to run smarter and how to take care of my body better. There will be tough points, pain, discomfort, uneasiness. But that's all part of ultra running. I already requested a beer from Ryan at his aid station and hope to drink more than 1/4 of it! All that aside, I am going to listen to my body, make sure I'm eating, drinking, electrolyting and hopefully that translates in to a good race and a good week after the race. LFG  

To the fella over there with the hella good hair...

Quad Rock 2015 in the books. And to answer Jessi and anyone else who's asked recently what I think about when I run; I apparently think about Taylor Swift songs on repeat in my head.

What a difference a month makes! Despite the race starting at 5:30am the heat was already a factor early on in the race. Great training for North Fork, but oof, I'm not used to such high heat for this race. I swear the "shady" areas I remember from last year turned out not so shady this time around. How I missed May and it's cloud cover. Again, I did not envy the 50 milers I saw slogging their way back up the course, except for Ryan, he strolls along chatty and happy as always as if he didn't have another 20 miles to run.

First and foremost, I finished. Albeit not as pretty as I would have liked. No, no stitches this year. I had a couple "oh shit" almost falls but managed to save it before body connected to rock (I did sort of bounce off a tree at one point, much to the amusement of the person behind me). My achilles held up for most of the race but had a temper tantrum about 2 miles shy of the finish. I rolled in, sneaking by the Catt cheer squad, but sort of awkwardly running trying not to put any weight/pressure on the ball of my foot. Yes I know, not running and resting would have been better. Despite that I do feel 100% ready for the North Fork 50k, I don't think I'd have that feeling if it wasn't for this race.

I'm really happy with my uphill work. I focused a lot on strong uphill running/walking and kept really great form for most of the race. This is probably the first time I've run Quad Rock not hating myself halfway through one of the big climbs. I actually felt strong after each climb. I ran the first down hill pretty hard and then committed to taking it a bit slower for the rest to make sure I wasn't killing my body. All in all it was a really great race. I'm not happy about my achilles, but "thems are the shakes" as they say and all I can do is ice and rest as I get ready for North Fork.

Catt and I relaxing in Jessi Witt's
back yard post race with
Lory State Park in the background.

Catt really killed it this race. We had a great discussion about nutrition and bonking. I was skeptical about his fueling for the race. He's decided to eat V's (his 16 month old son) mushed up baby food pouches. To his credit they sounded sort of delicious and savory, none of the sickly sweet Gu combinations. My concern for him was the three pouches combined only had about 180 calories total (versus one of my bars that had 180 on its own). He did supplement with Vfuel gel which didn't make his stomach feel good but probably helped give him the calories he needed.

I want to acknowledge again why I choose to run despite being injured. In running, and ultra running, there's a fine line between pushing your body past being comfortable and doing serious damage. I wholeheartedly admit that runners often get this wrong. We are usually the first to tell someone else to rest and rehab and the last to actually do it for ourselves. Becca Hall (an amazing runner and winner for the Bucket Hat division at Quad Rock) posted a great article recently from outdoor magazine called Running on Empty. It looks at a condition called Over Training Syndrome (OTS). It has made me think more about the choices I make running, when to run, when to rest, etc. I am proud of myself that despite my stubbornness, I did not put on cleats and play frisbee Monday or Tuesday. It is really hard to take time off when all you want to do is train more and get better, but it's a lot better in the long run and I know this. I choose to run Quad Rock because I knew that not running it would have resulted in me making worse decisions the next two weeks feeling like I needed to get ready for North Fork. The lesser of two evils I suppose.

Final Results: 6:08:39, 127/197 and 39 overall for women. They only had 3.2 beer at the finish so Catt and I hydrated with that and then got real beer on the way home.

Most Funnest Day Ever - or the 50mile recap

A lot can happen in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. A lot can happen to your body in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. A lot can happen in your brain in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. A lot can change in a person in 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds.

To avoid being overly suspenseful, I finished the 50 miler. If you haven't guessed from the sentences above, it took me 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. I've struggled with the best way to sum up my experience, it's likely little bits and pieces of it will continue to trickle out through future blog posts. For the purpose of this post I'm going to take a page from one of my favorite podcasts; This American Life.

Each blog post I choose a theme and bring you stories on that theme. Today's theme; 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds.

Act 1: The little things. Over the course of 50 miles the little things add up.

Act 2: The fight. What happens when the brain, body, and stomach get into a fight?

Act 3: I get by with a little help from my friends. It's takes a village to finish a race, and sometimes a little rolling rock.

ACT I - The Little Things

This wasn't my first race. It wasn't my first ultra. It wasn't even the first time I was faced with spending many many hours out in the hot sun on my feet having to perform athletic awesomeness. Good performance is about nutrition, hydration, mental toughness, and physical preparedness and ability. I had all of these for the race. I had my go to nutrition - Gu gels as well as countless other things in my drop bags to supplement at aid stations. I had my go to hydration - salt bills and water mixed with HEED enduralite powder which packed electolytes as well as 300cal of per serving. I had mental toughness - I've been through enough shitty training runs and races to know I could get through a lot to finish. I had trained, I had worked for this. I was ready. Then things started happening...

It started out small. I tried to pass someone on a flat section at the beginning of the course and took a fall. Nothing major, but I had scraped my knee up good and could feel some soreness in my knees and ankle.

I stuck to my one Gu an hour plan and at about mile 8/10 I was ready to down my second Gu - strawberry banana. I ripped open the package and started oozing it into my  mouth and had the immediate reaction of wanting to vomit. I managed to choke the rest of it down, but it was brutal.

I made it to the mile 10.1 Homestead aid station and had Becca and Andy fill my waterbottle with HEED. It had some other HEED already in it, a different flavor, but I didn't really care much what it tasted like. I took off for Buffalo Creek aid station and my first drop bag stop.

I tried my third gu, it took my 20+ minutes to finish it, dribble by dribble into my mouth. Ugh...why did it make me want to puke?

The climb between mile 16 and mile 22 was tough, lots of walking. Lots of stomach pains. Not a lot of food/fuel.

I decided that the HEED was no longer working for me, I ran the section between mile 22 and mile 31.9 with only water and the food I managed to eat at the Rolling Creek Aid station (some watermelon, a piece of a candy bar, a part of a banana).

It was all those things, added up, that caught up to me from mile 31.9 on. The lack of fuel intake while running made it hard to find the energy to go faster. Since I was going slower, it also meant it took longer to get to aid stations where I was able to intake fuel. Can you see the pattern? I was unable to eat I know that had a huge impact on me, especially later in the race. I hadn't planned on having to come up with an alternative to fueling on the go, Gu has never given me trouble before. The HEED thing was weird too, I had done a lot of training runs with different mixtures and it always gave me  confidence that I was getting in calories through hydration. Not being able to ingest the two things I've always counted on was rough and it hurt me at the end of the race. I'm sure, looking at my splits, the  steep decline as soon as the lack of proper fuel kicked in was monumental.

ACT II - The fight.

Let me give you an taste of what my body, mind, and stomach were going through during the race in the form of a dialogue.

Stomach - Yeah, so I don't like what you're putting in me so if it's ok with you I'm just going to hurt here until it's gone.
Body - Well, we had an agreement Stomach. I'd put things in you and you'd turn it into energy so I could work.
Stomach - I know, but I changed my mind on what you can put in me. I want pickles right now and nothing else.
Mind - I'm trying to ask for pickles, but different words are coming out of my mouth.
Mind - oh, I got it, "Pickles, I need PICKLES". - what there are no pickles left? Oh...
Stomach - well I guess I could eat a banana and some chips, but it's pretty lame.

Body - Everything hurts a lot
Mind - well we need to keep going. This section is flat we should run
Body - nah, I've set everything on cruise control at an 18 minute mile so we're just going to do that for the rest of the race.
Mind - but the time cut-offs, we need to make the cut-offs!
Body - yep, 18 minute mile, ONE SPEED FOR EVERYTHING
Mind - I can override your system and make the legs go faster
Body - pretty sure you can't, I put a block on that, you no longer have control over your legs
Mind - I want ice, why do I keep saying salt?

Body - I have to pee
Mind - really, again?
Body - I have to pee NOW
Mind - ok, ok, go pee
Body - I forgot about the chaffing.

Mind - I don't know if I can finish
Body - well I'm just going to keep moving forward whether you tell me to or not
Mind - I don't know if I'll make the cut-offs
Body - ok we can try to go a little faster sometimes, stomach can you send me something?
Stomach - .....
Body - Stomach are you there?
Stomach - fu

Mind - There's .4miles to go, we're running
Body - fine
Stomach - fu

ACT III - I get by with a little help from my friends.

It literally took a village for me to finish this race. It took three friends and one dog to get me to and from the race. Of which I'm so thankful for. Kate, Spencer, Jimmy, and Atila can tell you what sorts of trouble they can get into for 13 hours 41 minutes and 46 seconds. The aid station people gave me food, ice, comfort, a chair. But more so they gave me something to look forward to every 4-6 miles. Knowing that I was one stop closer to actually stopping. Even if they ran out of pickles. Ryan had a beer for me at mile 46.2. At that was amazing, also because he had a chair for me to drink it in. I did drink it, only about 1/4 of it. But it was a delicious, cold Rolling Rock. Liz made sure I ate food at the aid station, even though I didn't want to. She gave me a hunk of some weird candy bar and the whole aid station cheered me on as I climbed back out and on with the race. Janice the race coordinator at the finish. Despite being the 2nd to last person to finish the race, they cheered with what I can only imagine was the same enthusiasm as when the first person crossed the finish line. And then she hugged me. Sweaty, tired, emotional wrecked me.

Erin - without whom I don't think I could finish it. I didn't know Erin until I met her at Mile 22. She joined me at mile 31.9 and spent some very intimate time with me for the next 6 hours. She went from being a friend of Liz who was interested in pacing, to someone who I couldn't live without. She put up with my brain refusing to work and freaking me out, my mood swings of optimism to crabby, and anything weird that my body was going through at any given moment which was a lot. We talked, we cheered when we saw a trail sign, we joked about obsessive compulsive tendencies like counting steps, and there was no question in my mind I wanted her to cross the finish line with me at the end.

Epilogue - Dehydration is a horrible

I thought I was in ok shape the day after the race. I had trouble eating breakfast, but I felt ok. Drank a few beers, took a nap, watched soccer. I was sore and just assumed that was that. Then I was flung into a pit of horribleness. I referred to myself as the walking dead for the next week. I was not prepared for the late onset dehydration, which Erin informed me can come on 2-3 days after a race. It was like I had the flu, without the comfort of knowing how to treat it or when it would end. I was chilled, I even have a small burn on my foot from putting a bottle of hot water on my skin to try and warm it up.  I had weird fever thoughts when I tried to go to bed at night. I couldn't think straight, I couldn't speak well or articulate my thoughts, and I couldn't eat. I managed to get down a bowl of ramen type noodles thanks to Dan and Allison and a couple vitamin waters. I'm happy to report that things are much better. Everything except for the food part. I've managed to start eating some more meals, but it's sad to not be able to eat normally like I am used to and love to. It's improving, but just at a slower rate than I want.

Will I ever do it again? - Time will tell. I will say that this was an awesome race, well organized, well put on, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to attempt it.

NorthFork 50 preview

When I first started writing a couple years ago I never really thought I'd get to the day where I'd be doing final prep for my first 50miler.

You paid money to run 50 miles?

It seemed like such an abstract thing that would happen in the future at some point, not something that was going to happen this Saturday at 7am. The realness of it all sunk in this past weekend as I prepared a novel length email for my friend Kate who is schlepping me to and from the race. I calculated estimated times for aid stations in case she wanted to catch me on the course and then it hit me, come Saturday I'd be actually doing it.

This past weekend was a flurry of errands. Here's what I got:

• 12 gels (10 Gu brand, 2 Honey Stinger fruit smoothie because they are delicious)
• 6 packs of gu chomps various flavors some with caffeine
• smokey tempeh (for protein in my drop bag)
• salmon jerky (for protein in my drop bag)
• a cheap watch (because I lost my other one)
• KT tape - I don't know if I'll use it or not, but it was on sale at Target
• gallon zipper close plastic baggies
• blister bandaid strips
• sunscreen.

I wanted to have something to look forward to eat in my drop bags. Unfortunately it's tough when you're at an aid station and the only protein options is turkey or peanut butter. I've eaten tempeh "bacon" during ultimate tournaments before it provided the right amount of salty, chewy, protein that I needed. I figured it'd be worth a shot and I don't really  need to worry about keeping it cold. I've got a couple other things on my list to get but I put a good dent on Saturday.

Unfortunately my body is rebelling against me right now and I'm trying to fight off the early stages of a cold (stuffy nose, scratchy throat etc). I purchased some zinc tablets and some throat lozenges and have been pounding those and Vitamin C, here's hoping for a full recovery before Saturday.

I went through the race website and put together all the info regarding elevation, turn by turn navigation, course map, estimated times etc. I'm going to make a pace card for myself to show me at each aid station what the estimated time should be for a 10hr race (ohhh how ambitious!) a 12hr race (the goal) and a 14hr race (the cut offs). I figured a 10hr estimation would give me some motivation or remind me to slow down a bit if I'm going to fast. Also I want to make sure I can actually spend some time in the aid stations so this give me an idea of when I need to be heading back out on the course.

Course Thoughts

I've been able to run a few sections of the course now which will be a big help. In total I've run about 38 miles of the 50mile course. There are some good climbs, but nothing compared to what you see at Quad Rock. The total elevation gain is 7,350 feet over the course of the race.  Here's what it looks like:

So pretty consistent up and down with a long downhill at the end. The race is almost entirely on single track with a few "service road" type sections that don't take up too much of the course. I remember the downhills being really fast and fun and I can't wait to stretch out my legs on them. Ideally I will have run a smart enough race I'll be able to run the section between the Meadows (miles 22.3 through 31.9) and final downhill. The climb from Buffalo Creek to Homestead isn't crazy steep, but it's long and I remember feeling tired doing it during the last training run.

There's some pretty hot, exposed sections of the course due to the two large wildfires that cut through the area in the past. I've been warned by a lot of past runners that these sections are hot, long and brutal. Especially during the heat of the day. I haven't settled on exactly how I am going to handle these sections, but I have some thoughts.

• A hat, I'm going to wear a hat, probably for most of the race. 
• A camelbak, I never got a fancy new hydration pack, but I've been running with the trusty camelbak for awhile now and it's been fine. I thought about just doing a water bottle since the aid stations are close enough to refuel, but I'd rather have more water, maps, food then needed and the extra water can be doused on my hat and put on my head for a quick cook down.
• Bandannas, I am thinking of packing some in the drop bags to dunk in water at aid stations or put ice in if they have it to get through some hot sections.

Temps are looking good for the day, the high is 74 and the low is 46. There are no storms predicted, but it's Colorado so it will for sure rain/thunder/hail at some point during the race. Perhaps I'll get lucky and it will be on another part of the course, or perhaps I will get lucky and the rain will come as I run through the burn areas. I'm also packing a lot of salt pills and will be taking those often.

Additional Gear thoughts:

I am still figuring out what to wear on race day. I've really enjoyed my new patagonia shorts, their pockets are good and they  have a nice back pocket which my old ones do not. I do think it would be wise not to try and shove M&Ms in the butt pocket despite their thick candy shell.

I think you're brain has a thick candy shell

I bought some additional icebreaker shirts/tanks and will likely pack a tank in one of my drop bags but start out wearing a shirt and probably arm warmers if it is in the low 40s at the start time. I am going to pack in my camelbak or in my drop bags the following:

•  a jacket 
• ankle brace
• long sleeve
• extra socks
• winter hat
• gloves 
• maybe pants. I highly doubt I'll need pants, but it's better to have them in a drop bag just in case.

Goals

So really, my ultimate goal for this race is to finish. It's my first 50miler and crossing the finish line will be the best thing ever. I'm sure I'll be all weird and emotional when I get to the paved path around the lake at the very end, knowing that I can stumble into the finish. Finishing will be huge, really that's the biggest and most important goal for me.  I do have some secondary goals:

• Finish in 12 hrs. I think with my training this is doable. If I feel good I see no reason why I can't make this happen
• Focus on my self and not get distracted. As we'd say on Molly Brown "IRRELEVANT", I'm going to focus on me, running, food and liquids. I am not going to worry about other runners or other people on the course and just be there because ultimately it's my two legs that will do the race.
• Not throw-up. I don't like throwing up and that just sounds really unpleasant.
• Drink a beer at the last aid station - Andy Jung said he'd have a cold one waiting. Hopefully by completing this goal I won't fail at the preceding goal.
• Be proud of myself, no matter what happens I'm proud that I took on this challenge.

Quad Rock Preview

This weekend is the Quad Rock 25/50 in Fort Collins. I'm doing the 25 miler for the 3rd year in a row. Right now the weather is looking to be pretty amazing, 72 and clear. Perfect drinking beer after running weather. Again I'm going into a race feeling so/so about my training. I haven't put in the longer trail runs that I would like, but I have been running a lot so hopefully that translates well.

Looking ahead for this race I'm looking back at a training run I did a couple weekends ago with the North Fork 50 people. We did a 16.3mile section of the 50 mile course. The course felt great, although the climbs are no where near what we see at Quad Rock. I'm still experiencing the 3hr leg implosion and I'm debating about how to approach it for this race. Since I know it's coming and I know I can get over it (I managed to bust through that wall at Salida so I think I can do the same here) I'd like to do everything I can to either get over it quicker or lessen the pain. I am going to continue to push nutrition and salt pills early and often. It's so tempting to wait an extra 10/20 minutes to do a gu when you're feeling good and don't want to stop running or slow down to fiddle with the packaging. I recently purchased a new supplement for my water that has 300 calories in it. I used it for my training run and it didn't have an obvious impact. I'm going to bring some to mix into my water thoughout the race, but I don't want it to get in the way of my hydration since you're supposed to alternate between this mix and straight water. Perhaps the biggest thing I can do is actually stretch/roll the night before. I am so bad at doing this and it really should be something I do on a daily basis. Especially after I play ultimate. My sprint/climb muscles are what specifically hurt and get tight at the 3hr mark and it's probably because I don't do enough on my off time to take care of them. I'm trying to do a little bit of stretching and rolling the week leading up to the race.

All in all I'm excited to get out of the city and run a race! It feels like the Salida Marathon was so long ago. I'm also psyched to add to my race t-shirt collection and coffee mug collection :). Here are my goals for this race:

1. Finish close to my time from last year.

I'd like to be right at the 6hr mark again. Depending on how I feel I could try and push it to get under 6 hours, but that will be a game time decision. Right now I'm happy to run it about the same as last year since my focus for this season is the 50 miler and this is just a well aided training run.

2. Minimize chaffing

Yeah, running isn't glamorous ok... I have body glide, but sports bras are stupid. I am going to super glide up and see if that doesn't help. I'm also going to get a new running bra and see if that helps.

3. Learn

It's easy to get wrapped up in the race and you might miss some valuable piece of information that will help you in your next run. I'm going to try and not just survive each moment, but learn more about what I need to get me through the long hall. That includes noting pains, weaknesses, stomach issues, energy issues, feelings of of strength, and my overall outlook of the race as I go through it. The benefit of races such as Quad Rock is you have a lot of time to think out on the trail, it's not uncommon to be alone on the trail for a mile or miles and while the views can knock your socks off I hope that I pay more attention to myself and my running.

I'm feeling optimistic about my speed since I got my hair cut. That has to shave 10-20 seconds off my time right? I am a little worried about what to do with it. I am so used to putting it up in a braid and now I cannot even put it in a pony tail. Fashion aside...I'm always worried about minimizing distractions and things that make me feel uncomfortable while I race so I need a solution that will keep it out of my face. I have 4 days to figure it out....

I'll check in with a race re-cap. Wish me luck!

running without a rope

*I had a really hard time with this post. It's been rewritten so many times I finally just decided to throw it out there.

Molly Brown spent a lot of time on the mental game of Ultimate. To help we asked Scott Gurst to give occasional talks to our team about training your mind. I love all of his talks, I've heard a lot of them several times, yet each time I find something new to ponder or implement in my life; both in ultimate and beyond. One of his talks is about fear and "climbing without a rope" and it seems even more relevant to me at this stage in my running career and life.

sometimes ropes are helpful when river crossing

In rock climbing there's a style of climbing called "free soloing". It basically means you climb without the aid of a rope. If you want a more in depth description you can google-fu it. There is no room for error, all you can do is climb up. If you read impressions from free climbers you'll hear similar assessments of the challenges. The difficulty is not the physical challenge of climbing, but the mental difficulty of staying focused. With a rope you have something to catch you, a safety net in case things go wrong. What do you do when that net is gone?

Running solo is less risky than free-soloing but there are more similarities then you would expect. I think one of the biggest ones is the idea of letting go and just running. It's easy, especially when you're feeling fatigued or frustrated during a race, to stop the free rhythm of running and focus on everything else. You start to think about your past training, your food intake, your pace, your clothing choice, how long you've been running, how much longer you will have to continue running. While there is a time and a place for some thought (nutrition, pace, and clothing), the rest is stuff you cannot change and therefore need to push it out of your head. It's really hard to stay focused and not let your mind wander to things that hint at failure. You can't worry about your training because you're there, you're running. The best thing you can do is just keep running. If you don't just believe you'll be able to run uphill forever then it's easy to just want to give up on running that hill in the first place.

Another similarity I see is the concept of being solo. Running, in itself, is a solo event. It makes sense, your mode of transport is you. If someone is carrying you, it's not really running. Do they have marathon piggy-back races? But many runners will tell you that the act of running is often a very social experience. We depend on each other for motivation, for intel on trail conditions, or for an extra gu when we've run out. Although we runners pride ourselves in the self-propelled nature of our sport, running solo is often a scary thing.

Not piggy back, but I doubt Eric would have carried me around the whole tournament

I start running, really running, 8 years ago. For the entire time I've had the same running partner. Having someone else to depend on to make decisions on where to run, what to wear, what to eat, when to eat, even what shoe to buy was a pretty secure rope and safety net. Someone to complain about the weather to, to share in the misery with, to celebrate a good run with, and to drink a beer post run with. If I failed it wasn't really my fault since I didn't make any decisions without his input. If we got lost on a trail I had someone to blame. I didn't have to just go out and run and see what happened, I depended on a safety net to guide me to what I needed to do. It was really nice to not have to make decisions, all I had to do was show up. It was also nice to know there was someone right there who know exactly what you were going through. Plus, everyone knows a celebratory beer tastes much sweeter with friends. Now that I'm running without a rope I have to make all the decisions.

Ok, I admit, that sounds a little overly dramatic. Yes I can still ask people about trails, I can still go running with people, I can probably still bum food off of people if need be. But there is a sense of loneliness when you start venturing out on runs on your own. You lose that safety net and it's easy to say no to a challenging run or route. A safety net, which could be a running partner or even a familiar route/trail, allows us to stop focusing on our individual goal and the motivation to challenge ourselves can be lost. I was in charge of my own training now, coupled with a race distance that is completely new to me, so I had to figure out on my own how to approach it. It is way too easy to bail out and skip a new run or a new running partner.  But I didn't sign up for a race to bail out, I signed up to work towards running 100 miles.

So how do we move forward? How do we run without a rope? Scott Gurst shared another important piece of advice during this talk, borrowed for the author/athlete John Bringham. Bringham wrote a book called "The Accidental Athlete" and in it he wrote:

"We never know what is going to be our last best day. the race that turns out to be our last best day can't be recognized in the moment, it can be seen only in retrospect."

You never new what race will be your best, your peak, until after it's happened. If we continue to run and train with a bail out, a rope, we might never reach our goal and run the risk of looking back at our running career with a lot of missed chances. This doesn't mean go out and try to win every trail run and race, but if you move forward always thinking that you can save it for the next run or the next race, there might not be one. Maybe you'll get hurt, maybe life will happen and you can't sign up for a race. I look back at my ultimate career and wonder was 2012 my last best chance at a nationals title? I probably won't know that for another few years, but I want to do whatever I can to not wonder that about running.

Looking at my training as an opportunity to put it all out for the next race, so if it is my last best chance, I know I put it all out there. This helps overcome the fear of failure or the unknown. If Quad Rock is my last best chance to run that race well, then I'm going to put in the work leading up to it. That means planning on some good hard trail runs to get ready for it, packing my own food, bringing my own water, and double tying my own trail shoes. Luckily I know there will be some awesome people at the finish line ready to imbibe in that celebratory beer with me.

Was 2013 my last best chance for ultra running? I don't think so. I've just dipped my toe into this field and I'm excited about all the strides I've made thus far. It's scary to go at it alone without a veteran ultra runner by my side all the time, but sometimes that rope can also be a weight that holds you back from your real potential. The weight has been shed, the rope is gone, whether I was ready for it or not and there's no where to go but up.

Salida recap

I didn't realize he took the picture until it was too late.

Final time: 5:32:53

Well the first marathon of the season is in the bag and my body is telling the tale and likely will be for awhile. There's no getting around it, this was the toughest marathon I've done. I experienced a lot more discomfort and pain during this race then in any of my other races - the 50k included. Here's my assessment on specific parts of the race for me:

Nutrition

I actually feel like I did pretty well on the nutrition front. I think that played a big part in me being able to finish semi-strong and keep my time similar to last year. I ate a lot more gu then I have in the past. Largely to do with the Honeystinger fruit smoothie gu, it was so delicious! That aside, I felt like I had good energy, it was other parts of my body that broke down. I kept my salt pill intake up, but could have probably done a bit more near the end. As the tendency in races, you start to forget about good nutrition intake near the end because you rationalize that you just need to get to the end and it's so close. In retrospect, I think I should have kept my gu/salt pill intake going in the last 7 miles. My water intake was good and I was fully hydrated using a mix of water and Acclimate. On a final note, the M&Ms at the last aid station helped me power through the last two miles of downhill and for whatever reason I saved a cookie in my pocket from mile 8ish until later in the afternoon while watching TV. Tower was jealous.

Training

Yeah, I didn't train enough for this race. I did train enough to finish the race and power through some pretty painful moments. But I did not do enough long runs to keep the pain monsters at bay after about 3 hours. Which, coincidentally, was the longest duration of running I did leading up to the race. I'm pleased that my past experiences and overall badassness overcame this deficiency enough to keep me in the same time bracket as last year. However I would like to see what I can do next year combining all of that with dedicated training.

Pain threshold

They say women have a higher pain threshold than men. Maybe that's true, maybe it's not. But I learned a lot about my pain threshold over 5 and a half hours and I passed a couple dudes in the last 3 miles so maybe that says something. Here is a run down of what hurt:

• Ankles/Achilles/shins. This felt more like an impact related pain response. Which makes sense, when you are pounding on your legs for that long things get sore. I am surprised that I haven't felt that more in the Quad Rock race which has way more punishing descents. I do think more overall running will strengthen this area up over the next few months and I'm not too worried about it.
• Hamstrings/Quads. Pretty obvious that these things hurt. Just your typical soreness, but I definitely felt them for a lot longer during this race then in previous races. Again I point to not enough long run training. I also experienced a lot of Quad fatigue and that made other muscle groups work a lot harder throughout the race.
• IT Bands. Holy cow, I have not experienced this level of pain in a race before. Usually after a race or a hard frisbee tournament I get the usual tightness/soreness. But this go around I felt them starting at mile 13 and pretty much on and off the rest of the race. It was physically difficult to move my legs forward because of the pain. I actually think a contributing factor to this was playing ultimate the Thursday before the race. Although I wasn't playing 100%, there was some sprinting, and quick changes of direction which are all the things that contribute to my IT Bands hurting. So in the future...no ultimate 2 days before a race.
• Knee. Ugh, my knee gives me trouble in every race. It's something that I've just gotten used to, but it still hurts just the same. I don't know much more that I can do about it except for just dealing with it. It hasn't hurt so badly that I've been sidelined in either running or ultimate so I'm calling it a symptom of being old.
• Pelvis. (Insert some lame sexual innuendo joke here). This was a new one. I have never had my pelvis hurt while running and it didn't hurt so much during the run, but after and through the next day. My theory on this pain is related to the IT Band and Hamstring/Quad pain. Because of the fatigue in my muscles and the tightness in my IT Bands, other muscle groups were working to keep my legs powering forward. I feel like I've gotten a stronger core over the last few weeks, but this race required me to activate muscle groups I haven't had to depend on as much in the past and I felt it.

Mental toughness

There are a few things that contribute to finishing a race and Mental Toughness is just as important as physical ability and proper nutrition. I was feeling pretty bummed near the end and had to give myself several pep talks to keep going. Thankfully, when those pep talks were not working, Abby (an amazing ultra runner) came bounding past me and kept me going through the hardest part of the race. She's been having her own running woes and to see her push through it and encourage me to keep going helped me climb out of the abyss of miles 20-24 and let gravity do the rest for the final 2 miles. 

I'm proud of myself for pushing through the pain and frustration to finish the race. Realistically my time is much better than it probably should have been, and for that I have been physically paying the price for the last few days.

Conclusion

Marathons are hard. If they were easy they'd call them 5ks (am I right? hahahaha). Anyways, long distance racing is tough and there are a lot of factors in play that lead to success. I'm really proud of the other runners who were out there running and killing it. There were some PRs and that's awesome. When you feel good you feel good and just rip it. I'm thankful that I had to survive this challenge because it's only going to make me that much stronger when I tackle 50 miles in a few months. It's almost guaranteed that at some part of a 50 miler you're body is going to want to break down and quit and I'm thankful to know that I can at least get through 13ish miles of body breakdown to finish a race. So it's onward and upward. I predict many long training runs in the next month and a half as I prepare for Quad Rock.

Local man gets lost in woods, runs 100 miles

Besides running races I also love to help out at races. Whether it is the aid station at the North Fork 50 or cheering on runners like Jeremiah in races. At the end of June I was fortunate enough to crew for Jeremiah in his first 100 mile race in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We had a great group of pacers and all around crewers for the race so first off THANK YOU to Tower, Donnie, Cassidy, and Hannah for not only keeping Jeremiah going but also helping me be the best support I could be.

If you've never crewed before it's a neat experience that takes some prep work that you have to be willing to throw out as soon as something changes with your runner. Here's my guide to being a good pacer,crew member with some  "what to do better next time" advice.

1.  Let your runner dictate what he/she needs before, during, and after the race

Anyone training for a race whether it is a half marathon or a 100 miler has a lot of their own preparation to do. There's the training part, but there's also the figuring out fueling and clothing, researching the course and the weather. Jeremiah had a unique problem in the previous two years of the race had pretty much every possible weather you can think of. It's best to trust that your runner has planned out what he/she needs and it's your job to remind them that it's there (extra shoes, long sleeve shirt, various snacks).

2. Except when you have to make the runner do what he/she needs to do

In retrospect I should have pushed the sit down/rest/recover piece more. Since this was Jeremiah's first 100miler we were all learning what to do and he was learning what to do and not do. The last 17 or so miles of the race were pretty tough according to the bearded wonder. He struggled with fatigue (he said he was "sleep running" for awhile) and really nasty blisters. As I noticed some of the other runners come through aide stations and there were two women who made an impact. First of all, they spent almost the entire race slowly catching up to Jeremiah (one was running the other was a pacer). They eventually passed him at the second to last crewed aide station. Her crew made her sit down at every aide station, brought her food, and provided changes in clothing.

Jeremiah's a little stubborn and when he's feeling good he likes to keep going and pushing. He's been pretty remarkable in running through most of anything so it was pretty easy to believe him that he didn't need to stop and he could just keep pushing through. It's hard to think that didn't catch up to him at the end. I also feel like I should have pushed for a shoe change much earlier. He finally changed at mile 94, probably a good 30 miles past when we could have addressed and stopped some of the major blisters that definitely impacted his ability to run.

3. Try and sleep

Try, but you're probably not going to sleep much. I had a chart of expected times at each aide station so the most I could get was 30min here/1hr there. It's was rough, but not as rough as Jeremiah had it. I say try and sleep because unless you have Beth making up a comfy bed in the back of her Prius you might just fall asleep in your chair at the aide station (which I did despite there being a bed in the Prius).

4. Bring Friends

Having friends around at each aide station made it so much better! Kudos to Hannah for keeping me company for most of the evening. We even managed to catch a blue grass concert in Nemo with the four-wheel festival and acquired a new favorite party song called Parking Lot Party. I didn't think I needed it, but it was really nice to just have people there with you as you try to prepare for your runner and then have your runner blow through the aide station so quickly you didn't even finish throwing away the old gu packets. A big kudos to Beth who drove me around all night and made me eat food. Otherwise I would have missed pacing the last 5 miles.

5. Have fun

I know, pretty generic, but you're going to be out in the woods for 27+ hours so you might as well have fun. You especially need to find fun if you're the last pacer because your runner is probably just going to want to stick his/her head down and finish. Don't get me wrong, Jeremiah was great the last 5 miles, I couldn't believe he was still running after I saw what his toes looked like. But he was having a hard time finding the fun in the last stretch so I figured as long as I kept moving he'd keep moving too and to keep moving I had to find joy in things. I got to see an amazing view of Sterling, we got to pass through some cow herds, I got to wisely convince Jeremiah not to eat a jolly rancher he found on the trail...etc.

All in all it was a great race and I was so proud to watch Jeremiah run through the last stretch to finish and get his belt buckle. It strengthened my reserve to sign up for a 100 miler in the next couple of years and I can't wait to crew/pace again.

Sageburner 50k

Well writing the recap of my 50k took longer than the race and probably all the training leading up to it. I have had a draft on the back burner for awhile, but as soon as the race finished I was informed that I would get to play on Molly Brown (ultimate frisbee team) for the 2013 season and just hit the ground running - except this time in cleats. More on that in a future post but for now I do want to recap what my first ultra marathon was like and whether or not I'll do it again.

I did it. I finished. Put a big check next to 50k on the running resume. Also move it to the top of the list of the hardest things I've ever done. I did a lot of thinking over the 7 hours and 15min I was out roaming the Gunnison wilderness and one thing is for certain a lot changed from the start of the race to the finish. As runners we often see changes in ourselves over a longer period of time and in a way that is so subtle it can often be missed. You're running and, if almost by accident, you realize that you've just run 15 miles without really thinking about it. The long road of training helps mold our mind and bodies into a runner able to complete a race. It's important not to discount the changes we experience as we run a race and let me tell you - you can cram a lot of changing into 7hours and 15 minutes.

Here's a list of things that changed for me during the race:

My stomach

I used to think one of the perks of running longer races is the joy of a healthy appetite following a race. Usually I'm starving and want to eat everything that I see. Not always immediately following the race, but typically within a few hours. However after this race I didn't want food. I forced myself to eat some stuff, but I really wasn't hungry and remained that way for several days. I literally could not eat a meal. I have a couple theories on why this race affected my stomach so much and the biggest one was probably the sun. Almost all of the race course was out in the sun - no shade in sight. Just being outside for that long made it hard to eat during the race and it is not too hard to imagine that effect lasted beyond the finish line.  I also consumed way more Gus then I ever have in that amount of time so perhaps I was fueled by Gu for days after.

My legs

I've hit the wall plenty of times in a marathon and even in some half marathons. You don't have much of a choice if you are going to continue or not because the choice for most runners is simple: you finish it even if you are shuffling the last mile. During this race I experienced a wall, I climbed over the wall and then I hit a 6in steel reinforced wall. I learned early on in trail running that if you don't know what the trial ahead has in store (and even if you think you do) just assume it goes longer and goes uphill. I pushed every thought out of my head regarding how much time I think I had left, how many hills I had left, and who was behind me gaining ground. Ok I did think a little bit about how close the person behind me was but just as a motivator. I realized that my legs can do a lot more than I ever thought possible. Especially after it feels like they cannot do any more. I went through every stage of leg fatigue twice and came out still running at the end.

My approach to a challenge

I started the race a bit faster than I anticipated I would. I've always been worried about starting out to fast and having it negatively affect me later on. What I found out was the pain comes no matter how fast you start out and it's about how you overcome that challenge mid-race that makes a difference and you can overcome a lot more than you think (see above comment regarding legs). Sure there's a balance and I still believe you can start something in a way that makes your finish harder to reach, but it was eye opening to me to know I can start faster - blow up a little bit - and keep going all the way to the finish.

Not everything changed during the race some things did stay the same and I'm grateful for that.

Here's a list of things that didn't change

I love Dr. Pepper and I don't know why I don't drink it after every race.

My old patagonia running shorts are and will always be the best running shorts I'll ever own. I can cram Gus, M&Ms, pretzels, oreos, probably another pair of shoes in the pockets.

My love of running - seriously. Despite the pains I cannot wait to do another race. I love ultimate so it's not a bad switch to go into that, but I am already planning my race schedule for next season and hopefully I'll be able to find a race I can do in October after nationals. I doubt I'll do this race again. Logistically it was fine, but the course itself was not my favorite and I felt underwhelmed at the aid stations.

As I noted above I'm now transitioning back in to Ultimate Frisbee season. Another activity you can do for 7+ hours at a time. You can follow us on twitter @mollybrowntown and find us on Facebook. You can also read about our team on our website Molly Brown Ultimate.

Until then here's a picture of me at the Sage Burner 50k with a big goofy smile on my face as I ran the final stretch into the finish. Look at all that crap in my pocket! Why didn't I eat it?

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!

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?