Races

Race Report: Superior 25K 2017

Official Results:
Time: 4:06:15 (45 minute improvement)
Pace: 15:52
Placing:
Overall: 215/301
Gender: 111/185
AG (F 30-39): 59/95

Watch Results:
Time: 4:06:20
Pace: 16:56
Distance: 14.54 mi
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 4:15
B: 4:30

Food:
What I ate the night before: chimichurri burger and fries
What I ate on race morning: bagel with cream cheese and hazelnut spread
What I carried with me: 4 gel packets (I ate 1), candy (had one Jolly Rancher), mints, water.

Gear:
What I wore: t-shirt, shorts, ball cap, buff, arm warmers
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker, hydration pack

Discussion: Writing a race report feels wrong. Initially I considered not writing one, because celebrating a PR or even dissecting the successes and failures of the race seems trivial and disrespectful. A runner passed away on the trail during the race. It’s a terrible loss for his family, friends, and students, and a traumatic event for the race staff and runners, especially those who were involved in trying to save him. We take risks we don’t even realize when we run these remote races, with miles between aid stations. A couple of miles seems endless in an emergency. All we have out there on the trails is each other, and dozens rose to the occasion.

I don’t want to dwell on this story; it isn’t really my business, nor is it about me. I’ll share that I asked myself what I would have done, had I been the first person to come upon the runner. I can’t say for certain, but I know that I was in no way as prepared as the runners and hikers who were assisting, and I need to update my first aid and lifesaving skills. I am not a medical professional, but I need to do the best I can to be prepared to help on the trail.

The rest of the weekend is worth talking about, even though in perspective, it seems small.

My husband and I drove up on Friday afternoon, arriving just in time for me to start my volunteer duties. I helped sell merchandise this year, which I haven’t done before. It’s a little different than checking people in, which I really enjoy doing – I like chatting with each runner as they pick up their bib or race shirt. However, selling merchandise is a bit less stressful – packet and shirt pick-up can have a tinge of drama, and it can be rushed. Since people choose whether or not they want to look at all the swag for sale (and it’s great, the race director creates it all and he has an incredible eye for design), they’re not in a hurry and have time to chat. I made some new friends, which is basically the reason I volunteer (besides giving back to the trail running community), and reconnected with some others, including one guy I knew from high school, who I hadn’t seen in probably 20 years.

After I finished volunteering, my husband and I went to dinner at the Poplar River Pub at the Lutsen lodge. I ate an actual meal the night before a destination race – I think this might be a first. It wasn’t the world’s healthiest meal, but it was more substantial than the junk food I ate before Chippewa. We went back to our resort for the evening and watched a movie and went to bed around midnight. I tossed and turned a bit, especially since I realized while laying out my gear for the morning that I had forgotten my bib in the packet pickup room. Or at least, I hoped it was there. Overall I got a decent night’s sleep, and got up around 6:45, walked down to check in and find my packet (it was there, of course), and then back to my room to get ready.

The weather was cool and it was overcast, but the forecast had improved and it appeared the rain would hold off until the evening. I packed my ultralight rain jacket and a pair of gloves in my pack, just in case. I decided for a shorter run, I wouldn’t bring along anything other than water and a couple of gels. I think I might have put a Clif bar in there just in case I needed something substantial, but I can’t remember. I got dressed, ate, putzed around worrying, and then left for the start at about 7:40. Staying at the race start/finish takes away a lot of my race day anxiety. I didn’t even make a checklist this time, and still felt like I had everything I needed before, during, and after the race. I’m starting to get the hang of this.

I ran a little less than half a mile to warm up, just enough time to worry that my legs felt like lead weights. I met up with some friends from the Twin Ports I met at Voyageur who had driven up that morning (crazy!), and then fell into place with a new friend I’d met during my volunteer stint. She was helping to sell surplus tech tees (2 for $5!) and pint glasses ($1 off your first pint at the bar! One of the mainstay volunteers negotiated that deal) while I was next to her selling surplus race shirts from previous years (I bought one for myself). Her husband was also volunteering, but I recognized them both from my first volunteer experience, working the finish line at the Superior Fall Trail Races in 2015, when he finished the 100 miler. They’re both really cool people, and she and I discovered we had similar race goals, so we ran together at the beginning. We separated when we reached the single track – she took off and I hung back. She ended up finished about 20 minutes ahead of me, so we both outperformed our goals significantly.

It was slow going once getting onto the single track, as there was a muddy section to start off, plus some small hills. I walked all the hills, even the little ones, because I knew I had to save energy for Moose Mountain, my bff. I like the way this race starts – the half mile or so stretch of road helps everyone separate before reaching the single track, but the single track slows everything down again – it’s so tempting to go out too fast on the road, so the trail helps check that impulse. The first section is kind of funny at the back of the pack, because of the people who appear unprepared for the terrain or elevation, trying to pick their way through the mud unscathed, or trying to recover from taking the hill too quickly. I tried to hang back, avoided passing anyone, and let others pass me without concern. I had my own race plan, and I wasn’t going to abandon it a mile in just to feed my ego.

I ended up in front of a couple of runners also from Duluth, who were running together and having a conversation. It was just like Chippewa all over again. They ended up talking to me for a little bit, then they stopped to pee, and then they caught me on Moose Mountain. We climbed up together, with one of the women keeping up her end of the conversation. I was pretty amazed she was able to keep talking as we climbed up the steep trail; I was huffing and puffing and my legs were howling at me. Once we got to the top, we ran in a line for awhile before they passed me, and I didn’t see them again until we neared the aid station. I ate a gel about 5 minutes before I started the Moose Mountain climb, which was a great idea.

I started to see the first 25K runners as we crossed the top of Moose Mountain, including the first woman (who I believe finished 5th overall!), and as I started my descent, I ran into a UMD hockey alumnus, kicking butt in a new sport (he was 8th overall!) I caught up with a self-professed “flatlander” who ran with me from the bottom of Moose Mountain through to Oberg. People seemed to be a lot more spread out this time around, so I wasn’t having as much trouble passing as I did the previous year, or at Chippewa. Or maybe I was just in a better mood. On the switchbacks heading up Oberg, I saw the 50K winner come flying down with wild abandon. He ended up setting a course record, and I’m not surprised, considering how he looked. A man on a mission. He also runs wearing glasses so I felt some solidarity.

I reached the Oberg aid station in under 2 hours, and when I hit the lap button when I left, it read 1:59:59. I was probably about 15 minutes ahead of the previous year at this point, although I’m not 100% sure since I didn’t take a lap reading last year. Right before the aid station, a guy was sitting cheering on runners and playing music, which perked me up. At the aid station, I had a couple of cups of Coke and a cup of ginger ale, which tasted so delicious. I chowed down on some potato chips, stowed a couple of Fig Newtons in a pocket in my pack, got a hug from a volunteer friend, and turned around.

The run out of the Oberg aid station is much nicer than the run in, since it’s just a short uphill section followed by some nice runnable downhill sections. I passed runners that I knew from previous races, and offered encouragement to those who were looking like they couldn’t wait for the aid station. I understood – I’d been lusting after a pop for probably an hour. I was passed by a 50K runner I recognized – last year, he was the dude who was totally fried and out of water. He looked great this year in comparison, and he remembered me, too. I knew the backside of Moose Mountain awaited me, and I wanted to get it over with. I ate one of my cookies “fruit and cake” just before the ascent began, and then slowed down to a moderate walking pace when the familiar terrain of the mountain began. It was a tough climb, and I took it as slowly as I could. I was passed by some 50K runners whose climbing skills were impressive. I was jealous – I have got to get better and faster at the steep ascents.

When I finally reached the top (well, it’s the first “top,” as it’s more of a saddle profile), I cheered out loud, because I knew I’d finished the hardest part. I tried to run as much as I could across the top, but I slowed to a walk several times if I hit even a hint of incline. I was able to scramble down the other side pretty easily, other than one big step down off a root which my legs weren’t quite ready for. I trotted across the flat section between the mountains, trying to decide if I wanted to have another gel. I’d finished the other Fig Newton while crossing Moose Mountain, so I wasn’t really hungry. I decided to eat a Jolly Rancher while I plodded up Mystery Mountain.

I slowed to a walk as I reached the start of the Mystery Mountain ascent. I knew to take it slow: it wasn’t a steep ascent, but it took a long time. I started singing “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” in my head, to keep busy while I was going up. I saw a group of people on the switchbacks above me, and thought it was a group of spectators cheering runners on during this last tough climb. When I reached the group and realized what was actually going on, that I had come upon a fallen runner receiving CPR, my heart sank.

Since there were at least 10 people already assisting, and I had no specific skills or tools with which to assist, after ensuring someone had called for help, I continued. I really don’t know if this was right or wrong. It felt wrong. If there had only been one or two people, I would have stopped. It felt wrong to stop, too; since I couldn’t provide any real help, it seemed like it would have just been self-serving. But maybe there was some specific way I could have helped, if I’d stayed. Everything felt wrong. It still feels wrong. Of course it does. The only way for things to have turned out “right” was for the whole thing to never have happened.

I kept walking in a daze, up the hill. I reached the top of the hill, started down, and met a woman coming to provide medical aid. I described his approximate location to her, so she could relay it back on her phone. I kept going, trying to run, lacking the motivation. Again, running seemed wrong.

I snapped myself out of the daze and pushed a bit, passing two other first responders on their way up the hill (giving them the right of way, of course), and passed a few other people on my way down. A woman went by me the other way and told me I only had a couple miles to go. “Listen for that river, girl, then you’re almost there!” I passed a couple of women picking their way along the sides of a muddy section, and just charged through like a buffalo. There was a spectator at that point, and she was cheering us on. “There are hoses at the finish! Just keep going!” she encouraged the others as I stampeded my way through the muck. I listened for the river, and when I hit the bridge I knew I needed to run it in.

Once on the road, I got passed by a couple 50K runners who looked strong. One was singing “Amazing Grace” aloud. I picked up the pace, running the last half mile at about an 11 min/mile pace (according to my grossly inaccurate watch). I turned off the road toward the finish and kicked it into high gear. I heard myself announced as “our friend Donna Carpenter from Duluth, completing her second Superior 25K,” and accepted my medal at the finish line, and then a hug from my friend, the finish line coordinator. He asked if I was ok, and I sort of waved my hands, and asked if he was ok, but I could tell he wasn’t. I got some lemonade and watched other runners finish. Each time a runner came around, the volunteers would shout “RUNNER!” and rev up the crowd, reminding everyone “we all need it today!” And we did. We cheered so we didn’t have to cry. Or we cried anyway.

I threw my shoes in the garbage and hosed off my feet, then ran into one of the women I’d met earlier (the one who had the breath to still talk when climbing Moose Mountain). We hugged and she made sure I wasn’t alone. We all did our best to take care of each other.

I went back to my hotel to shower. Physically I felt ok; a little tired, a little cold, a few tight muscles. No chafing. I changed into comfy clothes and watched TV for awhile, then once my hair was dry, I went down to get my post-race chili, met up with my friend from the start, and cheered on some more runners. My friends from Voyageur finished and we talked for a little bit, then they left to drive back (crazy, but they are used to it!) and I returned to my hotel. We drove up to Grand Marais for a little while, just to see it, and then drove back and had dinner at Caribou Highlands.

It was a difficult day for most runners, crew, and volunteers, though that pales in comparison to how hard that day and the days ahead will be for the loved ones of the runner we lost. Run gently out there, everyone, and look out for one another.

Race Report: Chippewa Moraine 50K

Official Results:
Time: 8:57:29
Pace: 17:18 (the course is 31.1 miles, not 31)
Placing:
Overall: 172/174
Gender: 61/63
AG (F 30-39): 18/19

Watch Results:
Time: 8:57:31
Pace: 16:42/mi
Distance: 32.19 mi
Heart Rate: N/A (still haven’t fixed this)

Goals:
A: 8:00
B: 8:30
C: 8:59:59

Food:
What I ate the night before: bagel and cream cheese, bagel and Nutella, Ruffles, birthday cake Chips Ahoy. So, garbage.
What I ate on race morning: bagel and cream cheese, part of a vanilla Coke, Clif bar.
What I carried with me: Clif bars, 6 Gu packets, Strawberry Lemonade Gu tablets (one pre-mixed, plus the container)

Gear:
What I wore: t-shirt, shorts, ball cap, buff, arm warmers (I didn’t wear the buff or the arm warmers the whole time)
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion: Another difficult race, but I am pretty pleased with my result. I went into this knowing I would either get a personal best time, or I would be swept. I can now say with conviction that I do not like chasing cutoffs. It worked out ok this time, but only because the intermediate cutoffs weren’t hard cutoffs, and in fact were very lenient. Which of course I didn’t know until I was already freaking out.

I drove down from Duluth on Friday afternoon, stopping at the interpretive center serving as the race headquarters to pick up my packet on my way, since I was staying further south in Chippewa Falls, about 30 minutes’ drive from the start. It took like 3 seconds, which was nice, and then I went outside to look at the start/finish. The view from the interpretive center was lovely. It’s up on a hill (more on that later), so I could see quite a way (there’s a pic in my race goals post). It must be gorgeous in fall. Apparently it’s quite buggy in summer, so I was thankful we missed that part.

I slept terribly, which was unsurprising. I was tired most of the day, but of course that didn’t translate into sleepiness. Too much adrenaline. I got probably 3 hours or so, which I’ll take. I think I only slept about an hour before Wild Duluth. I set my alarm for 5:40, got up around 6, and farted around aimlessly, trying to pull things together in a disorderly manner, and left around 6:45, since I wanted to make sure to get a decently close parking spot. I did! I sat in my car for a little while, doing a few final preparatory things and trying to keep myself from getting too amped (fail). Then I milled about awkwardly in the interpretive center – I don’t know a lot of runners, and everyone there seemed to be with either a running buddy or a large group of friends. I did talk with my friend Jay, who I know from Runner’s World’s forum. He is running the Ice Age 50 in a few weeks and used this as a training run. That’s on the a different moraine, BTW. They’re really into glacial debris in Wisconsin, I guess.

Start to AS 1: 3.3 mi, 0:48:20, 14:39 section pace (on pace for 4 hr cutoff)
The start is at the top of a rather steep, grassy hill. And the race is an out and back. So put that together and remember it for later. The first (and therefore also last) 5 miles of the race have markers (for the 7 mile runners), which was nice for calibrating my GPS error. The first mile+ of the race is on grass, so it’s more like a cross-country start. I was zipping along, feeling confident, but also feeling hungry. Big mistake not to deal with that sooner, but I was so focused on staying on top of my pace. The race is all rolling hills, few of which are super challenging, but they’re still hills. So many hills. Anyway, I was dumb and was worried about nausea pre-race so I didn’t eat enough. I shouldn’t be feeling physical hunger so early in a race. I could also tell my body was too amped up – I wasn’t going out at too hard a pace, but the adrenaline and excitement made me feel like a low-level electrical current was buzzing through my body. I mean, besides the currents that normally occur. A couple miles in, we passed behind the interpretive center again, which was kind of depressing. A small part of me wanted to turn off. A very small part of me, but still. I didn’t stop at the aid station because I wanted to keep moving, and I was already snacking slowly on my Clif bar. Ugh, swallowing food during ultras is THE WORST.

AS 1 – 2: 6.5 mi, 1:41:47 (kind of, I forgot to hit the lap button til I was out of the aid station), 15:40 section pace (Off pace, but still cumulatively on track for 4 hr cutoff)
This section was ok. I am trying to remember stuff about it, but my brain is a bit fried. I had to reapply sunscreen on the go because the sun was getting a bit warm. Also a couple of women running together caught up to just behind me, which was fine except they used me to pace off of for longer than I’d like, and when they slowed a bit to let someone pass and to take a quick breather, they didn’t get far enough behind, so I could hear them chattering to each other for miles and miles. This is my own personal problem, but I run alone. I like running alone. I like running in quiet. So it annoyed me to hear them talking, even though they had every right to talk. (On another side note, this race banned external music, which I found amazing. I do not need to hear someone else’s iPhone blaring their walk/run interval mix app.) There were a lot of glacial lakes, which I enjoyed – we even crossed a few, on bridges of varying levels of stability. One such bridge, which I walked across due to its dubiousness, was cobbled together from various chunks of other bridges, planks, and other miscellany. Another bridge seemed to be on the verge of submergence. There were lots of runnable sections, and I ran most of them. There was a short section in grass again (ugh), and then I ran on the road for a bit, back into the woods, and then back onto a road down into the second aid station, which again, I bypassed. I think I started eating a gel during this section, but I can’t remember.

AS 2 – turnaround: 5.75 mi, 1:40:56 (actually longer, see above), 17:33 section pace (no longer on track for 4 hr cutoff)
Ugh. I looked at the elevation profile for this section and confirmed it is mostly uphill. I thought maybe it just seemed that way but I was correct. I really struggled through this section, probably because I was behind on my nutrition from the get-go, and because I was getting a little warm. (I wet my hat and my buff at one point, which didn’t help much. Should have dunked them in the lake.) Just past the aid station, I saw the leader (who set a course record) cruising in. So, I kind of hate out and backs for this reason. Not because I have to see the leaders, but because I have to see everyone. Sometimes in groups. Usually looking better than me. And we all have to greet each other and say nice job! Which, I like to hear, and I like to say, but I don’t necessarily like to say it 171 times. Especially when I’m chasing a cutoff and the returning runners get the right of way, so I’m constantly running to the side of the trail. Once I got close to the aid station (maybe a mile), I was in full on panic mode. I knew I couldn’t make the cutoff. The runners I was passing were encouraging as I wildly tossed out my worries about getting cut, reassuring me I wouldn’t, but I was freaking out. I was questioning signing up for FANS, questioning my goals to eventually move up to longer distances, and questioning my decision to run ultras at all. For a few strides, I’d be resigned to being cut. Then I’d shake myself out of that, and fight for it. I really hustled when I could, though I tried to make sure there was something left in the tank if I did get allowed to continue. And I did! Even though I made it there about 8 minutes after the 4 hour mark. I felt kind of dumb, but at the same time, how was I to know? I’ve seen people get cut, first hand, when I volunteered. I also saw a guy get spared the axe, but he wasn’t allowed to stop at the aid station, he had to continue through. So I was prepared for that, too, even though I desperately wanted pop. They did let me stay, so I chugged some Coke and ginger ale, mixed up another bottle of with a Gu tablet with the help of a volunteer (ok they did most of the work, and someone even offered to open the tablet bottle for me, because they were so amazing and I was so clumsy), grabbed some cookies to go (I didn’t feel like I could eat right at the moment, since I was feeling a bit queasy from hoofing it in), sprayed myself down with sunscreen, and left.

Turnaround – AS 2: 5.75 mi, 1:47:50, 18:45 section pace
I walked for quite awhile once I left the aid station to settle my stomach and recover a bit for the trail to come. Once I ate a few cookies, I picked up the pace again. I wanted to make the secondary cutoff at the 6 hour mark (which was only announced in an email sent this week! yikes!) to get back on track. I knew if I was over, I wouldn’t be over by much, and would mostly likely be allowed to continue, but I wanted to make it on principle. I ran when I could, power hiked when I could, and took it slow on the really steep climbs. I got into more of a rhythm, since I wasn’t passing runners in the opposite direction (I didn’t see another runner for the entire second half of the race), and since it was more downhill than up on this section. It did seem to take an extremely long time. I was having some trouble with my eyes – the sunscreen (I did a 3rd application during this section) or the salt from my sweat was getting into my eyes, and when I got wind to my face, my eyes started stinging. I had to do a makeshift eyewash with some of the water from my pack, cupped in my hand. That worked ok, but I guess it washed off some of the sunscreen (duh) because I have a bit of a sunburn on my face, despite 4 applications (one pre-race, 3 in-race) and a hat. My nose was in tough shape, too. Since it’s always running when I am (ha!), it was getting chapped, and the salt/sunscreen combo was irritating it further. I ate another gel during this section, although it took awhile because I was averse to swallowing. My stomach wasn’t super upset, but I felt like I was going to gag on anything I tried to swallow. (I didn’t, but it felt that way.) At the aid station I drank some pop, grabbed some cookies to go, and headed off at a trot.

AS 2 – AS 1: 6.5 mi, 2:00:01, 18:28 section pace
This section started out ok – I felt pretty strong, rolled through the grassy areas, and then things started to go really badly with my eyes. They were stinging and burning so badly I had to stop and clean them out again, and then I had to get my buff out of my pack pocket and wet it down so I could wipe them as needed. It was a big pain to get my glasses off and on for some reason (they kept getting caught in my hair), and they were filthy (probably from sweat and salt), and cleaning them only helped marginally. Instead of being spotty, they were smeary. Ew. I lost a lot of time and energy dealing with my eyes. Every tenth of a mile seemed like it took forever, even when I was moving at a decent clip. I was itching to hit the 5 mile marker, to begin the real countdown and to figure out where I really was in regard to time left. My GPS was off by about a mile at this point, so I kept having to do Race Math to figure out approximately what distance I had left. I’m an engineer and I’m really good at math, but Race Math is still a problem for my poor, scrambled brain 20+ miles into a race. Just when I thought they had taken down the countdown markers, I finally hit the 5 mile marker. And then eventually the 4 mile marker, and then I knew the aid station would be somewhere along there. I got to re-cross the bridges, re-circumnavigate the glacial lakes, and cruise along on the runnable sections on this stretch. If not for the issue with my eyes, I would have had a much better time on this section. I got more cookies and pop at the aid station, and then marched off, knowing there was nothing else between me and the finish line.

AS 1 – finish: 3.3 mi, 0:58:34, 17:45 pace
I didn’t remember much about this section from all the way back at the beginning of the section, other than that there were a couple climbs. Well, there were 3… but they came in stages, so it felt like more than three. I tried to hustle up because I knew it was going to be close. I really wanted to finish under the 9:00 mark, to meet my goal and to meet the official time on the site (note: they will recognize a finish over the limit but before the sweeps – I thought I was last, but there were 2 women who came in, I think with the sweep, and they received official times even though they were over the “limit.” I’m so glad that’s treated as just a guideline.), and I knew I was going to get slowed down by the steep sections, so I hustled as much as I could. I started to get a side stitch, and kept having to slow down to manage that. It didn’t fully develop, so I was glad of that, but it slowed me down enough. I came around behind the interpretive center, wishing as I had 2 miles in that I could peel off, but kept shuffling along. I finally reached the grassy section, then the road crossing, and then I was winding my way along the hillside below the finish. Even that seemed to take longer than it should have; there were way more twists and turns in that last half mile than I remembered. And then I was mounting the hill. And it felt as steep as a cliff. There was a sign out that said “No Walk Hill,” but there was no way I was going to run it. Another sign followed that said “Don’t Quit,” and that one kept me moving, even when I wanted to stop to catch my breath. A third sign said “Empty the Tank,” which I found amusing because I felt a bit like I was going to empty my tank all over the grass. I didn’t, whew, but that climb really made me feel nauseated. Finally, I reached the flags leading up to the finish, and was able to run the last 100m or so. There was hardly anyone around, and I got a few half-hearted cheers (which was really awkward, why sit around at the finish line if you’re not going to cheer! And I heard people cheering loudly for other people once I was within earshot of the finish, so I felt kinda crappy that I didn’t get at least a bit of that reception.), which I returned with a smile of “appreciation” that was equally lukewarm.

I sat down in the grass and took my pack off, which felt amazing. It had been killing my back and shoulders all day. Too much stuff, not enough core strength. I lay down for a few minutes with my hat over my face, and then sat back up again, thinking about what to do. I saw the Superior/Zumbro race director and he asked me how it went. I talked for him a little bit about how I was pretty happy with the result, but pushing for that cutoff was hard. The other fellow he was talking to told me it was pretty great for me to run it in like that, just before the time limit, and that he tied for last in his first 50 mi. I said he should be jealous, because I didn’t have to share the honor. I was kind of enjoying my first DFL finish, only to find out later that 2 people finished about 10 minutes after me!

This race was tough for me, but it was also a great result. I set a personal record by over an hour! And my average pace was almost 3 minutes faster than my first 50K! And I didn’t give up! I would definitely run it again, and not just because the bib has a woolly mammoth on it.

I didn’t like chasing the cutoffs. I didn’t mind coming in near last place, but I minded that my chances of an official finish eroded as the race went on. I also wonder if I had not had that intermediate cutoff, if I’d have been able to pace myself better. Or would I have slacked and done even worse? I don’t know. Maybe it was a good thing and I just don’t know. I did feel triumphant that I beat the clock, just barely. There was something very satisfying about coming in at the last minute, that maybe I wouldn’t have felt if I had finished in 8:40 or 7:50. Of course I would have felt some other kind of triumph, but I don’t know. There was something enjoyable about facing down those time constraints and beating them.

Race Report: Hot Dash 10 Mile

Ha! I ran a race. I was going to make a post about my goals, but didn’t make it a priority. It wasn’t a race I trained specifically for, so I didn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about it. To the point where I didn’t even look at the course in detail, and didn’t really look at how I was even going to get there/park/other stuff until this morning.

Official Results:
Time: 1:48:08
Pace: 10:49
Placing:
Overall: 1628/2008
Gender: 935/1228
Division (F 30-34): 196/243

Watch Results:
Time: 1:48:16
Pace: 10:25/mi
Distance: 10.39
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 1:50:00
B: 1:59:59
(I swear these were my goals, not just goals I made after the fact to make myself look like a rock star.)

Food:
What I ate the night before: bratwurst (I was at a hockey game) and Chex Mix
What I ate on race morning: Clif bar
What I carried with me: water + electrolytes

Gear:
What I wore: t-shirt, shorts, arm warmers, buff as headband, ball cap, tall socks (that fell down)
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion: That was very cold.

The early forecast made it seem like it was going to be in the low 50s on race day, but then started creeping down into the 40s, so I quick ordered some arm warmers since I didn’t want to wear a long sleeve or gloves, but didn’t want to be cold at the start. It was about 33F when I left my dad’s house Saturday morning for the race (with a stop to buy my morning snack, and then another stop at the ATM in case I had to pay to park, which I did not), but I figured it would warm up a bit and by the end of the race maybe be like 40F. I was going to be running for about 2 hours, and the race started later in the day (9:15). News flash: it did not warm up much. It was about 35F at the end. Ugh.

I slept ok the night before, which is always a crapshoot for me. I wasn’t at home, which always makes it tougher to sleep, and I often get too amped up or anxious about races, so I stay up half the night or more (like my DNS at Curnow). I did dream about being late to the race and forgetting half my gear, whoops.

I felt a little rushed trying to get to the race, since I thought I might need cash, and the ATM was broken at the convenience store where I stopped to get my Clif bar, so I had to stop at a drive up ATM further on. I was worried about needing to pay for parking. Then I ended up parking on the street, so that was a waste of time. I sat in my car with it running and got all my stuff together. At the very last minute, I decided not to wear my jacket, and left it in the car. I ran the half mile from my car to the race start, then found my friend and talked to him for a little bit. He wanted to start closer to the front than I did, so we parted ways. I was a bit chilly, but not shivering. It was overcast and there was an unpleasant wind.

The race started but I didn’t make it over the timing mat until 2:38 had passed. Fine with me. I dodged and weaved a little bit but since we were running on closed streets, there seemed to be more room than normal. We did a quick zag down and back a couple of blocks right away, and then crossed the Mississippi River on 8th Ave NE. The bridge was of course a bit of an uphill but it wasn’t too bad. The route then followed the river down past the mill ruins, underneath 35 W, underneath 94, and down just past Mississippi Gorge Park (though that was on the other side of the river). I wish it had been later in the year, or that spring had already arrived, because I think it would have been more scenic, but it was cool to run by the Mill City Museum and the Guthrie and all the other great stuff along the river front.

This course is not flat, by any means. I didn’t really know what I was in for, so I actually am extra pleased with my pace results, since there were several significant hills. I ran them all, even though it felt kind of terrible. This was ultimately a training run, but I still wanted to see what I was capable of, so I didn’t hold back much. I didn’t know the route at all, so I couldn’t come up with a race plan, I just went with it. I knew my GPS was off, so I just switched my watch over to display elapsed time whenever I came upon a mile marker (they had these nice big flags, so I could see one and quick switch over), and made sure I was under 11:oo pace (since my watch was measuring long, it had me at a great pace!).

I don’t remember much about what happened after crossing the river for the first time, and the turnaround. There was a very nice downhill that I knew would become a very unpleasant uphill. Between miles 3 and 4, I passed 4 or 5 different splatters of puke, probably from the same person. Look, in a 10 mile race, if you’re throwing up less than halfway in, you are either going too hard, or you are too hung over and need to call it a day. Gross. Puke in the grass, at least.

I was able to fly through the aid stations because I had my handheld. There were great, enthusiastic volunteers all along the course, from the water stations to the turns (every turn had a volunteer, so great!), and I was glad I had the breath to thank them. That was actually my best way of gauging my effort level: I was able to thank volunteers in full sentences, so I wasn’t going out too hard. Shortly before the turnaround (which was at around 5.5 miles, I think), I caught up to my friend and talked to him a bit. I hit the 5 mile timing mat at a 10:54 pace, which was just under goal pace. I kind of liked that the turnaround was a little past 5 miles, because it meant I already had less than half the race to go.

I caught the 12:00 pace group (who had started much farther up to the front) in the early miles, and in the back half, I realized I was closing in on the 11:00 pace group. I knew since they started ahead of me, as long as I stayed ahead of them, I’d finish under goal pace. I got ahead of them just before a hill, which kind of stunk. The pace leader told me to keep my head up, which was a good tip, since I’m always dropping my head. He said it shortens your stride on uphills. Interesting! I did my best to hammer up the hills and then keep my legs churning til they recovered.

The course crossed the river at the Stone Arch Bridge, and went past St. Anthony Main before crossing onto Nicollet Island. I thought oh, this nice downhill must be close to the end, but then no, the race took us back up another uphill as we crossed back over onto the east bank. There was yet another uphill before the finish, but then a downhill and a nice flat finish just short of where the race began.

Here’s my race results link, which has my finish video, in which I look super amazing. I’m the only person in shorts. (When anyone commented on the shorts, I replied “I live in Duluth,” which they all found sufficient for an explanation.) I felt great, cruising into the finish line, even though the surprise hills at the end threw me a bit. I had tried to get my final kick going a couple times before realizing oh, there’s another hill, gotta hang on, but I still had legs left to finish strong and happy.

I waited around for my friend to finish, and that was probably not the best idea for me, health-wise, because I was sweaty and it was still cold. I cheered him on just before the finish, and then met up with him after he left the chute. We talked for a little while, but I absolutely had to get going because my hands were getting cold. I got my finisher’s medal and walked back to the car, feeling miserable because my hands were just getting redder and colder by the minute. I made it back to the car and sat there for a few minutes (I put my running jacket on right away) before my hands recovered enough to drive. I picked up bagels and a latte on the drive home, though I was still chilled (and had to stand near the door while waiting for my coffee, getting a blast of cold air every time it opened) and really should have gone straight back. I recovered at home for awhile, finally getting the chill to go away by wrapping up in blankets, then taking a shower about half an hour later.

The race was pretty fun! It was a nice challenging course, and a positive way to kick off my 2017 race calendar! The race jacket, which came with my entry fee, is great for one reason: ZIPPERED POCKETS. I don’t have enough running gear with zippered pockets in which to store my car key. This race also helped me build confidence for Chippewa Moraine: surely even on trails, I can still hit those cutoffs. If I can run a hilly 10 mile road course in under 11 min miles, I can run 15 miles at less than a 15 min pace.

Race Report: Jingle Bell 5K

Official Results:
Time: 29:21
Pace: 9:27
Placing:
Overall: 57/167
Gender: 35/124
Division (F 30-39): 16/46

Watch Results:
Time: 29:25
Pace: 9:31/mi
Distance: 3.09
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 29:29
B: 29:59

Food:
What I ate the night before: carne asada skirt steak and instant mashed potatoes
What I ate on race morning: granola bar
What I carried with me: nothing

Gear:
What I wore: hoodie, tank top, tights, buff as headband, gloves
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

jinglebell5k

Rita and me after the race. Last time we saw each other, we covered 10x this distance. At more than 2x the pace…

Discussion: Well, I did it! Finally under 30 minutes!

It’s fairly amazing that I did, since I have been sick and I have been light on training for November. This confirms my theory that I was held back mentally, rather than physically, from reaching this rather dubious milestone. But hey, I don’t care if it’s dubious, it was a big deal for me! Now I guess my goal is to never go under 30 minutes for a 5K again unless I’m wearing a bizarre costume, running on a technical trail, or running with a friend for fun/to pace them. Which, I can’t keep a consistent pace, so I should not pace other people.

I didn’t sleep that well the night before the race, and I didn’t feel super fantastic when I woke up. I had a bit of a stuffy head and a runny nose. I had planned to get up a bit earlier but hit the snooze so I could rest a little more. I didn’t need much time to get ready so I don’t know why I planned to get up early. I guess because I like to hit snooze. I love running local 5Ks because they’re so easy to get to. I was there in 5 minutes, parked right across from the Sports Garden, where I checked in and then warmed up. Yup, I warmed up! And then had a good race! Hooray! I ran at a very easy pace for about 10 mins and then returned to the Sports Garden (indoor staging area, so nice!) to meet up with my friend Rita, who ran the Wild Duluth 50K with me. We haven’t seen each other since the race, so it was good to meet up. She has done like 5 races since then, because she is a bada$$.

I don’t have much to say about the race itself, because I sorta no longer see the point in a mile-by-mile discussion of a 3.1 mile race. I started out kinda quickly, at a pace that felt good, but it was hard to hold it. And there were certainly times when I looked down at my watch and realized I was not holding it, and I thought the race was out of reach. I had planned to try to run a race based on actually completing 3.2 miles in under 30 minutes, because I ran this same course back in October and my watch measured 3.18 miles so I was thinking I was on pace and I was not. I noted, however, that the turnaround was slightly closer this time than it was last time. Not .09 mi closer, no, but it was strange not to have the exact same spot. The finish line might have been slightly farther back, or the course marker could have taken a slightly different route (there are a few spots where the most direct route isn’t exactly clear, as there’s an open space to cut through and then there’s no set spot to jump off the boardwalk portion of the Lakewalk onto the paved portion). Not a big deal. I’m sure GPS error accounts for most of the difference.

Next time I’m really trying to PR in a 5K, I need to get up early enough to eat something that’s going to actually have time to kick in. I ate a granola bar, yes, but while that prevented me from a growling stomach, I don’t think it had time to break down and get converted into energy.

I’m pretty sure I’ve prolonged my illness by running this race, since I’m feeling tired and listless, but we’ll see. Not good if I have, since I have a work trip and long training all week, and there’s nothing worse than sitting in a training listening to some boring lecture with a foggy head.

That’s it for racing for 2016. I’m happy to have ended it on a high note!

Race Report: Superhero 5K

Official Results:
Time: 30:18
Pace: 9:46
Placing:
Overall: 39/171
Gender: 14/102
Division (F 18+): 10/82

Watch Results:
Time: 30:23
Pace: 9:32/mi
Distance: 3.18
Heart Rate: N/A

Goals:
A: 29:30
B: 29:59

Food:
What I ate the night before: gyros and fries
What I ate on race morning: Clif bar
What I carried with me: nothing

Gear:
What I wore: Doctor Who t-shirt, shorts, buff
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion: This was an overall disappointing result for me, mostly because my expectations were too high. I assumed that I would just waltz out there and PR easily. I entered the race with a friend, so I didn’t do a big warm-up, which probably did not help.

The funny thing is, this is my best placing ever. I was on the first page of results! However, many of the people I “beat” were 2 year olds, or people carrying 2 year olds. The race assigned bibs to all participants, even little kids in strollers. It was sort of like the Simpsons episode Homer’s Enemy, where Homer is tricked into entering a children’s nuclear power plant design contest.

I was only 16 seconds off my time from this summer, so I am not overly concerned about giving <30 another shot. With a few weeks of work, I can get back some of that lost speed and energy. And mental determination. I probably could have run under 30 minutes if I’d had better head game.

The race itself was fun, it was inexpensive and a fundraiser for the Duluth Police Foundation, so I was happy to participate and I expect to run this race again. The course gets a little crowded and there were some pedestrians on the Lakewalk that added a few obstacles, but since the race was small and the average pace was slower, I got out of the crowding fairly quickly. The race starts behind Grandma’s Sports Garden, so the course doesn’t go as far down the Lakewalk as the Midnight Sun Midnight Run does, avoiding the Leif Erikson park hills. (10K runners do not avoid the hill, though.) I’d have thought on an easier course I’d run faster, but I guess not. It was windy but I didn’t feel the wind was a factor. I was just glad it wasn’t 30 degrees. The Sports Garden does open early, so there’s a nice, warm place with actual bathrooms at the start/finish of the race.

In conclusion, it turns out that when I don’t train specifically for a race or put much thought into pre-race nutrition and warm-ups, I don’t magically PR. What a surprising development.

Race Report: Wild Duluth 50K

Official Results:
Time: 10:25:37
Pace: 20:11
Placing:
Overall: 136/144

Watch Results:
Time: 10:25:47
Pace: 19:23/mi
Distance: 32.25 mi (more accurate than Superior, at least!)
Heart Rate: N/A (still haven’t fixed this)

Goals:
A: 9:45
B: 10:00
C: 10:59:59

Food:
What I ate the night before: half a spicy chicken frozen pizza, bagel and cream cheese
What I ate on race morning: bagel and cream cheese, part of a vanilla Coke
What I carried with me: 2 Clif bars, 9 Gu packets, Hammer Endurolytes Fizz (one pre-mixed, one extra tablet)

Gear:
What I wore: t-shirt, shorts, ball cap, buff (which I took off right away)
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion: This was really, really hard for me. I struggled with low energy/fatigue for most of the race, which was very frustrating, but is a rite of passage in distance running, I suppose. I wanted to quit a little more than a third of the way into the race, but I never let myself say it (other than in a joking way) or truly consider it. I became afraid at one point that I physically couldn’t continue because I was sleepy and worried I’d get sleepier, but I guess I was able to fight it off.

Friday night I hosted my friend David, who was running the Harder’n Hell Half Marathon. We don’t have any tasty bagel shops in Duluth (only one in Superior which I don’t go to anymore because TWICE I have been served while a baby was in the kitchen area) so I asked him to bring me up a half dozen bagels and cream cheese. So tasty, such a good decision. We went to the Bulldogs men’s hockey game, which was a nice distraction. I avoided caffeine for most of the day, with the exception of one latte mid-morning. I wanted to do everything I could to avoid a sleepless night.

Alas, adrenaline got the best of me and I spent most of the night tossing and turning, unable to relax. I am certain I got at least one hour of sleep, but unfortunately that hour was spent dreaming that I was late for the race. So restful. I really think I need a minimum of 3-4 hours of sleep before a long race. I know everyone says it’s not the night before the race that matters, it’s the night before the night before the race, but I am not sure that adage applies to me. Either that or my sleep was insufficient on Thursday night.

I got most of my stuff ready the night before the race, so I was able to munch on a bagel and dink around on the internet for a little bit before I left for the race. It was balmy and around 60 F, even at 6:30 AM, probably 30 degrees warmer than it was last year at the race start. (I think it was around 37 F when I started the half marathon last year, but I don’t remember exactly.) I arrived around 6:45, checked in, met up with my friend Rita, who I’d be running with, and then we boarded the bus. I spent the bus ride talking with my seatmate, who was running his first 50K in order to get into the Superior 50 Mile next year.

We arrived at the race start at Chambers Grove Park, which is way out in the Fond du Lac neighborhood in west Duluth. There was still half an hour to kill, which was kind of annoying, but at least it wasn’t cold. I probably should have eaten something else, since I went over an hour between my bagel and the race start. I didn’t warm up, Rita and I did a bit of walking around, trying to figure out where the start was.

Start to Grand Portage, 5.4 mi, 1:39:55, 18:30 section pace
The race started at 8:05, and began with a short jaunt up Highway 210 before turning onto the Upper Cathedral bike trails. Rita and I were basically in last place at this point, as planned, and enjoyed the smoothness of the bike trail, the gorgeous foliage (take my word for it, I have no photographs), and even the switchbacks (much better than a steep climb). We had a couple very nice views of the St. Louis River, a lovely section through pine trees, and then… power lines. I never really understood what it meant to run power lines until now: it’s a steep climb, steep descent, steep climb, steep descent. And apparently when running the Curnow Marathon or Voyageur, they’re muddy. Woo! They weren’t muddy but they were steep. Annoying. I had one gel during this section, at mile 3 per my watch (which was measuring long). The first aid station was just after the second power line descent. I chugged some ginger ale and Coke, ate some potato chips and took a few more to go, and then we hit the Superior Hiking Trail, where we’d stay for the rest of the race. Despite the annoying power lines, I felt great and we were happy to be ahead of our goal pace leaving the aid station.

Grand Portage to Munger, 5.6 mi, 1:41:05, 18:03 section pace
Once we got a bit past the aid station we were in familiar territory for me. This section has some uphills, including a couple annoying ones with stairs, but it also has some sections to run. We shuffled through leaves for quite awhile, which gets old. The rustling is a nice sound, but kicking them out of the way was frustrating and they obscure roots and rocks from view. We were banging our toes a lot. This is one of the reasons I get running shoes that are half a size bigger than my regular shoe size. 100K runners started to appear, looking fresh somehow, and always encouraging us as much as we encouraged them. I had another gel during this stretch and maybe a mint, I can’t remember. We spent a lot of time marveling at the views and the fall colors, and reached Becks Road before I knew it. We sprinted across Becks Rd and into the aid station, where I had another Coke and some generic lemon-lime stuff, more chips, and I think a cookie. I remembered to throw my garbage away. Rita’s husband met us there and took our picture as we were leaving the aid station.

wd50kchips

Lookin’ good with chips in my mouth

Munger to Magney-Snively, 4.3 mi, 1:28:42, 20:38 section pace
Everything kind of fell apart for me here. I knew this section would be hard, it includes a long, technical climb. Somewhere after we climbed up out of the aid station, I started to lose it. I knew there were smooth sections of easy running, but there were so many climbs and rocky sections that we reached before that portion that I began to get frustrated. I was feeling very fatigued and complaining a lot; I feel extremely fortunate that Rita was there to calm me down and I feel badly that I whined a lot during this section. I was sick of uphills and I felt like I had no energy. Mentally, I was feeling very tired, although I wasn’t having any vision problems, so I kept using that to remind myself I was ok when I worried maybe I couldn’t safely continue. It was such a contrast from Superior, where I felt confident and energetic for the majority of the race. I calmed down a little bit when we reached the downhill portion as we neared the aid station, even though I knew we’d lost a lot of ground. We climbed into the aid station and Rita refilled her pack with Heed (which she said was disgusting) while I ate some chips and drank some pop, and then took 4 cookies to go. I figured if I ate some more, I might feel better. I must have had a gel during this section, but I don’t remember. I did have a Jolly Rancher, which helped turn things around.

Magney-Snively to Spirit Mountain, 2.0 mi, 39:37, 19:49 section pace
For a mostly downhill section, this was much harder than I’d have liked. I was still feeling sluggish, plus the trail is very technical here. Both of us are prone to tripping, so we weren’t able to crush the downhills here. We also had to stop and wait for like 8 mountain bikers at a trail crossing. The aid station was unmanned and water only, so we stopped only for a little bit and I tried to douse my hat, since I was feeling a bit warm. It wasn’t extremely hot, and it was overcast, but the humidity was high so it was bugging me. I also wasn’t very diligent about applying sunscreen, and I did end up with a mild sunburn. In hindsight, that might have contributed to my fatigue. I should have done a better job of managing that, as I did have a spray with me. I ate the cookies I was carrying slowly; by the third one I was sick of them and had to force them down.

Spirit Mountain to Highland/Getchell, 4.9 mi, 1:57:50, 24:05 section pace
Yuck. This section took forever. It has two large climbs: the one out of Spirit Mountain, which culminates in my favorite staircase, and then the one out of Kingsbury Creek to the aid station. The Spirit Mountain climb isn’t that hard, it just takes a long time. There is a nice section to run between the stairs and the descent down to the Knowlton Creek crossing (which is technical and hard to really speed through), and I tried my best to speed up through that section, especially since it was lovely with lots of yellow leaves overhead. I don’t think we did very well at speeding through those sections, but it’s so hard to tell because the mileage is so off on my watch. We were both pretty excited knowing we had only a half marathon to go. We maybe spent a little too much time counting down (We’re under 20! We’re halfway! We’re in single digits!) but for the most part we only looked at the distance remaining in a positive way.

The second climb was torture, and went on forever. We were both pretty quiet on the climb, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. I must have had another gel or two during this section but honestly do not remember. At this point I was sick of gels, out of my electrolyte water, and my regular water wasn’t washing them down completely. Rita put it this way: “Is there shag carpeting installed on your tongue?” Yes. I knew there was pop ahead at the aid station to deal with it but it felt like the climb would never end. We reached the aid station finally, feeling fairly defeated because we knew we were never going to reach our goal of under 10 hours, based both on how we were feeling, and on the terrain we had left. I drank pop, as usual, had a couple cookies, and had my second Endurolyte Fizz tablet. I think these tabs worked way better than Powerade, since I did not have puffy hands and fingers like I did at Grand Traverse or Superior.

Highland/Getchell to 24th Ave W, 5.7 mi, 2:02:56, 21:34 section pace
Well, we sped up a bit, but we didn’t get back to our goal pace to try to make up some ground. I still thought it was possible to get under 10:30, so we set our sights on finishing without headlamps and hopefully under 10:30. I took a couple cookies to go from the aid station, which was dumb because there’s a short but precarious descent along Keene Creek, as well as a short section where we had to stumble over rocks. The cookies survived, but carrying them was irritating. Once we climbed up out of the creek and crossed Skyline, there were a few sections we could run a little. Well, I ran, and Rita walked, because she is an amazing speed-walker and I am a very slow runner. There are some spots between the Brewer Park loop spur trail and the descent to Haines Rd that are easy to run, but not when you’re tired and cranky and everything hurts. I discovered my back was chafing in a couple spots I hadn’t known. It always chafes right under the clasp of my sports bra, but when I stuffed my shirt under the band to try to protect that spot, the bottom of my pack rubbed against two spots on my lower back. I didn’t notice til I touched one of the spots and the salt stung it. Yikes. Both of us were having foot pain and were sick of stepping on rocks. My heels had developed blisters, and though they weren’t exceptionally painful, they were enough to annoy me.

We began the final climb, which comes in sections and seems to go on forever, although it isn’t exceptionally difficult at any point. When we reached the top, we whooped it up a little bit, knowing we had a long descent which, while steep, was not an ascent, and then we had some flatter, easier sections. We met up with a runner from Omaha during the descent, and he ran with us for a bit. He was in good spirits and happy to run with us for a little while. We’d passed him earlier when he’d stopped to take rocks out of his shoes and eat a gel. I nearly fell when I saw him, not out of surprise, but because taking my focus off the trail for even a millisecond meant disaster. (I should note that I had only two actual falls and they weren’t bad; the first resulted in a scrape and the second didn’t make my back feel great as I caught myself with my arms and my back took a bit of that impact.) We hit a flat section and told him there was a bit of road running up ahead. “Is there an Uber waiting for us?” he asked, dismayed when he learned we do not have Uber here. When we hit the street, he remarked that he should have brought some leaves along with him to throw on top of the asphalt, it just didn’t seem right. We let him go ahead as we got back on the trail, since he was in better shape. The last section of little ups and downs before the aid station actually wasn’t too bad. Rita’s watch died somewhere in there, and my watch started to die, so I pulled out my portable charger and plugged it in. When we reached the Miller Creek crossing, I said “If there’s traffic keeping us from crossing the street [24th Ave W], I am going to break its windows.” There was a car coming but we dashed across the street before it could reach us. We were both SO excited to see the final aid station. I drank some pop of course, ate a few chips, and took some pretzels and a Fig Newton to go. I had had a gel during the segment but I was so sick of them that I wanted to make it the rest of the way without one.

24th Ave W to finish line, 3.1 mi, 55:41, 17:58 section pace
Leaving the aid station, we knew that we only had a 5K to go, and no huge climbs, and we were ecstatic. I got my second wind and felt more energetic than I had in hours. The Fig Newton was a good choice, it wasn’t chocolate or overly sweet. I was neutral on the pretzels. They weren’t gross but also weren’t tasty. We tried to speed up a little bit on the sections we could, and then took the last couple little climbs as we could. This is where my experience on the Duluth sections of the SHT comes in handy: I knew there were three uphills before Skyline, so we were mentally prepared. We tried to run everything we could, and rejoiced when we crossed Skyline again. We climbed up the last little hill into Enger and I rang the peace bell as we went by (I thought I wasn’t going to get to, because a child was ringing it, but it was free right as I passed). We met up with the guy from Omaha again, and he decided to stick with us til the end. “I got passed by a 100K runner and covered myself in leaves and gave up,” he said. In all, we were passed by 3 100K runners, so I consider that a success. The leader was the same guy leading when we first saw the 100Kers, so good for him! I’m not sure if he went on to win, but I would guess so, considering how strong he looked and the ~10 minute lead he had over the other runner. I’ll see when the results come in, I guess.

We reached the Superior Street crossing and a car was coming, of course just fast enough that we didn’t cross in front of it, but then it slowed down as it approached and finally turned. SO ANNOYING. I started to get a side stitch on the pedestrian bridge but breathed through it. We crossed the freeway and descended the ramp, and then had to wait for a car at Railroad St. (never mind that it was a CROSSWALK, sir, by all means, just drive on through) before crossing. I saw my car in the parking lot which was torturous for a moment, even though I had like 2 blocks to go. We turned the corner, turned again into Bayfront, and then started to really run. Rita and the Nebraska guy got ahead of me, because I had a lot less left in the tank than either of them did, but we all finished within a few seconds.

And now I am an ultramarathoner.

David and his parents arrived second after I finished, and Rita had friends and family to cheer us across as well. Nebraska guy even had another buddy who had already finished. So we had a nice crowd at the end. I walked a little bit with David & fam to cool down, and then walked back to chat with Rita & co. I got this picture from Rita’s friend Jo Ellyn.

wd50kfinish

I’m a little bit stunned.

I went and got soup in my finisher’s mug, the glorious wild rice soup I’d been dreaming about for hours. I talked with my friends for a bit while I ate a few bites of my soup, and then they went off to the hockey game and I wandered to my car. I was a little worried about driving since I was a little loopy, but it was a short drive. I ate my soup while stopped at a red light, which I found amusing. I hope someone was looking in my window and saw me spooning soup out of a mug like a boss. Once home, I ate a bagel and cream cheese, had a vanilla Coke, ate the other half of my pizza, and had a ginger ale. I watched the men’s hockey game on TV and then read for awhile before finally relaxing enough to fall asleep. Despite being tired, I was amped up on adrenaline and found it hard to go to sleep. It hurt (not a lot, but enough) when the sheets touched my blisters or the chafed spots on my back.

Today I feel all right. I ate a couple bagels, had a pumpkin spice latte because I am unapologetically basic, and had a ginger ale. I’m starting to rehydrate and feel human again. My back hurts a bit, my hips hurt a lot, but surprisingly, I didn’t have trouble going down the steps to my basement or outside my house. I am taking this entire week off work to recover. There’s still a lot to process about the race and how to improve for future races, but overall I feel while this was a less-than-ideal result, it was still a victory.

Race Report: Grand Traverse Duluth

Official Results:
Time: 4:57
Pace: 18:27
Placing:
Overall: 32/48

Watch Results:
Time: 4:57:17
Pace: 17:09/mi
Distance: 17.33 mi (hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha)
Heart Rate: N/A (I didn’t wear it since it has been malfunctioning)

Goals:
A: 4:30

Food:
What I ate the night before: burrito bowl (I’ve made better choices in life than this one)
What I ate on race morning: Clif bar
What I carried with me: 1 Clif bars, 5 Gu packets, Powerade

Gear:
What I wore: t-shirt, shorts, ball cap, buff (which I took off right away)
Gadgets: GPS watch, fitness tracker

Discussion: Well, that was a new experience for me. Grand Traverse is a very low-key run, not even a race. At sign-up, it asks if you are hiking, running and hiking, or running. Why, I do not know. I said running and hiking, because that’s what I do! I like that it is not just for runners; it’s also a supported hike. There aren’t even timing chips or bibs, and there’s only a finisher token (a special rock?) for the 27 and 21 mile runners.

The morning started off ok. I had planned to get up early, get all my gear together, go get a coffee and snack, and then relax at home for a bit. I decided race morning that I’d rather sleep a bit more and skip the coffee. This was a very good decision, but a latte would have tasted nice. I filled my hydration pack, checked my gear, took a super fast shower since I’d run a few miles on the treadmill the night before and wanted to start the race smelling a little better, then got dressed and headed out. I poured most of a 30 oz Powerade bottle into a 20 oz bottle I re-use, and then tossed the rest of the bottle in my gear bag before I left. The lid was not on, so it spilled all over everything in my bag. It was a good thing I wasn’t planning on wearing my heart rate monitor.

I arrived at Fitgers at about 7:15 (15 minutes prior to bus departure), checked in (I told them my name, they put a check mark by it, that was it), and then talked to a guy for a little while until the bus showed up. We all trooped onto the bus (all the 16 mile runners fit on one bus!) and I chatted with a guy from northwestern MN who got stuck sitting with me. I gave him a few tips on the course from my experiences. We piled off the bus just outside the Magney-Snively parking lot, got off, listened to a very short speech, and then started running. We started the race on the road and crossed the bridge over Stewart Creek before getting on the Superior Hiking Trail, rather than starting on the spur trail from the Magney-Snively trailhead.

Start – Highland/Getchell: 5.9 mi, 2:04:40, 21:12 section pace
Ew, that section pace looks bad now that I’ve calculated it. My GPS was off by over a mile during this section and it was extremely annoying. I thought I was doing really well. I mean, I knew my GPS would be off a little bit, but the pace was off by almost 4 minutes. It was disheartening, for sure. I did realize that my goal was a bit ridiculous, but since I didn’t put too much thought into it or into the race in general, I’m unconcerned about missing it.

I was leapfrogging with a few groups of people during this section, but put them behind me once we got to the climbs. Since I know the course very well, I was able to be very strategic about my pacing. I knew when the stairs out of Spirit Mountain were coming, and I also knew the section that followed it is easy enough that I could keep running even though I felt like donkey crap after getting to the top. I thought I ran this section well, bombing down the hill to the Knowlton Creek crossing, pushing harder than I usually do, but I guess I had too many slowdowns. It’s a tough section with lots of uphill, so I need to cut myself a little slack. It’s going to be a lot harder 3 weeks from now.

I felt a little off for most of the run, thanks to the burrito bowl. I wasn’t stopping in the bushes or anything, but I felt really bloated and my abdomen was a bit distended which made running uncomfortable at times. It was a tasty burrito so whatever. I ate a gel right before the stairs at Spirit Mountain and another before the climb into the aid station at Highland/Getchell. I was in & out at the aid station; I ate a donut hole and took some pretzels to go. They didn’t have any pop or potato chips, alas.

I was passed by a couple of 27 mile runners during this section, which was a bit disheartening, but they did have an hour and a half head start and were of course faster than me.

Highland/Getchell to 24th Ave W: 5.7 mi, 1:39:41, 17:29 section pace
This section went a lot better, although I either misread the race map or it was mislabeled, because I thought this section was 5 miles long. I finally remembered that it was 5.7 miles and calmed myself down about it. I was really getting frustrated with my GPS at that point, and thinking even my backup plans of 5 hours and 5.25 hours were going to go out the window. So much for going with the flow in a low-key run.

It was misty during this section of the course, which is a bit of a problem for a foureyes like me. I could still see through my glasses but I did have to wipe them off a few times. Good thing the bottom of my t-shirt wasn’t sopping with sweat. I slowed during rocky sections, as the mist had made the rocks wet. I was passed by a few more 27 milers, including one guy who said he had gotten off trail for awhile. I told him he was still only like the 6th or 7th runner and he seemed surprised and happy to hear it. I ate a gel a bit before the big climb of this section, and had a bit of a Clif bar as well.

I passed some 10 mile hikers during this section, and rolled into the aid station long enough to eat a cookie and take a cup of pretzels. And also to find out the final section was only about 4.5 miles, not 5.2 like I thought. I was elated.

24th Ave W to Fitger’s: 4.5 mi, 1:12:54, section pace 16:12
I left the aid station feeling really good, ate my pretzels while wishing they were chips, and then tried to pick up the pace a bit. I think overall I ran the section to Enger better than I usually do. I rang the peace bell as I ran through Enger Park, and then began my descent. I knew I would be on sidewalks and paved trail once I finished the descent, and I was excited, although my bloated tummy was making running a little uncomfortable. My hands were really puffy, as usual.

star-trek-2009-kirk-big-allergic-reaction-hands-in-sick-bay-with-bones

It me.

Once I got to Superior St, I was ready to start running. I crossed the highway and headed down by Bayfront. I crossed the railroad tracks, thinking how annoying it would be if I got stuck waiting for the scenic railroad to pass by. I crossed Railroad St. and passed the aquarium and AMSoil Arena, then enjoyed the cool (if a bit strong) wind off the lake as I hit the back end of the Lakewalk.

There were a lot of tourists around at this point, and I must have been a sight to behold, sweaty and salty with dirty legs and an air of sloppy desperation. I wanted to be done and I was still hoping to come in well ahead of 5 hours. I was nearly mowed down by a Segway tour while running behind the arena, and then I reached the slip bridge and realized it was up.

I had not considered that the stupid slip bridge would be on the course, but I was there just in time for a Vista Cruise departure. So I stood there for probably five minutes, as best I could tell, with no choice besides running all the way down the slip past the Irvin and then back around. That would prb take almost as long and would take a lot more energy than standing there. But I was fuming. I was like “I’m never running this again, this is so dumb, rahrhahrehsdkfhadk.” It finally went down and then a bunch of people were in my way and I managed to restrain myself from shoving them aside or at least making a rude comment, but just barely. I passed the real lift bridge and a bunch of people milling around the waterfront. Fortunately there weren’t too many tourists and it thinned out once I got past the canal. I could see the Fitger’s smokestack and was ready to be done.

I wasn’t exactly sure where the race ended. I thought it might end at the base of the stairs up to Fitger’s from the Lakewalk, but no, that was not the case. The race ended after I ascended the stairs and crossed the little bridge over the Lakewalk. There was a little table near the building, I told them my name, and they wrote down the time of day next to my name. That’s as formal as the timing was. They were out of race shirts in my size (they allow registration up til the day before the race, so this isn’t a shock; they are going to send me one) and none of the food at the table looked appealing (I did want a cookie, but they were out of everything but sugar cookies), so I walked through the Fitger’s shopping complex, stinking and filthy, and got in my car to drive back home.

I stopped to get a latte and a snack on the way home, and then hung out for a few hours, relaxing. Well, not relaxing, as I didn’t feel super great when I got home, but I felt well enough to go to the Bulldog hockey game with my mom at 4. I ate some fries there, and then ordered a pizza and breadsticks when I got home.

After the race, I thought I’d never do it again, and if I’d written my review right after I got home (it’s Saturday night right now), I’d have had a lot more negative things to say. But this race was supposed to be a training run, it was supposed to be low-key and fun, and I let myself forget that. I would like to do the full Grand Traverse at least once. The cutoff is kind, based on a 3 mph pace. I can do that for 27 miles, I think. I did it for 26.2, after all.

I did push the pace more than I normally do in a race, and I didn’t fall apart. I will need to give that a shot at Wild Duluth. I was very tentative during the Moose Mountain Marathon. Maybe I try not to be so tentative with WD50K. I don’t know, we’ll see how it feels. I still need to eat more. Like, why didn’t I take 3 donut holes instead of one? Or two cookies instead of one? These are easy fixes but I just don’t think of them in the moment.

I do know I am so, so excited to sleep as late as I feel like tomorrow. Man that is gonna be sweet.