Training

Post-Mortem: Moose Mountain Marathon

Refreshers
Race Report
All MMM Posts

Good Things
Hills. I did a lot of hill work. All those torturous trips up Chester Bowl were worth it. I didn’t collapse and die on Mystery Mountain. My legs felt extremely strong, and I recovered really well, which was important since I have WD50K in less than 5 weeks.

Simplifying my race plan. My mantra was keep moving. I kept moving. I was tempted, for just a moment, on Moose Mountain. I wanted to stop for just a minute. I almost did, and then I muttered “Keep moving” and took another step. Before I knew it, I was at the top. Getting my picture taken.
I also planned out what time I needed to be at each aid station to reach my time goals. I typed up a little table, “laminated” it with clear tape, and tucked it into a pocket of my hydration vest. This kept me from getting frustrated when I realized my watch had gone haywire. The only problem I had was forgetting to note the actual time on my watch when the race started, so I wasn’t positive the times matched up exactly. It didn’t matter because I was ahead of my goal, but I could have ended up thinking I met my goal based on my watch time, only to find out my watch was slow and I was a little bit over. I mean, who cares, it’s a trail race and goals are only estimations, but that would have been annoying nonetheless.

Reconnaissance. I ran every section of the course. It sucked, driving up the North Shore every weekend (ok yes it was lovely, but I didn’t get to stop and enjoy the lake) and devoting an entire day to running. But it was worth it. I was prepared. I knew what the climbs felt like. I knew that I could conquer Moose Mountain and Mystery Mountain, despite my disastrous encounter with those two in May. I will not be able to do that with every race, but for my first crack at a marathon, I needed that extra confidence boost. I knew what I’d encounter, even if I didn’t know how my body would react.

Bad Things
Nutrition. It wasn’t terrible, but I am still sure I didn’t eat enough. I have to start planning better for remote races; I need to bring a cooler so I can eat something fresh for dinner the night before the race, instead of eating goldfish crackers and cookies. I didn’t eat much in the morning, either, just one Clif bar and a bit of Powerade. I had some minor stomach (well, really, esophageal) issues early on in the race so I felt kind of crummy. I should have eaten more at aid stations, carried something with me if I needed to. Potato chips tasted so good; I could have taken a cup to go and ditched the garbage at the next aid station. My stomach improved as the race went on, though. Chugging a Coke and a ginger ale helped prevent pressure from building in my stomach, and it also helped me get in some sugar when I ran out of Powerade. I knew they were only going to have Heed at the aid stations, but I should have tried some in training to make sure I could stomach it. I didn’t want to try out something new mid-race, so I just went with water and then pop at the aid stations. I felt hungry a few times during the race, especially at the end, so that was a bad sign.
My nutrition during training also sucked. I am going to wait until the off-season to start planning improvements to my day to day meals, but I’m ignoring a huge component of performance and overall health.

Strength Training. I’ve got to stop putting this on my “bad things” list. I don’t know what else to say about it.

Training Structure. I really winged it for this race. I didn’t follow a training plan, just had a general idea of the mileage I wanted to hit. My average miles/week was around 37 miles, and that average includes the two weeks I took off almost completely. (Taking out those two weeks, my average miles/week goes up to 40.) I appreciated the flexibility of going without a training plan, but I could have drawn up something fairly basic in advance so I’d have an idea of goal mileage and make sure to get in a couple of specific types of workouts (hills, other speedwork, etc.).

Moose Mountain Marathon Training: Week 6

A robust week.

Monday: 6 mi, trail (SHT at Becks Rd), 144 bpm
Tuesday: rest (yoga)
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest (travel)
Saturday: 26.2 mi, SHT (Moose Mountain Marathon!), ??? bpm
Sunday: rest (travel)
Total: 32.2 mi

Ok. Not much to talk about. I tweaked something in my left hamstring while doing yoga and decided shut it down til the race. It was mostly preventive, but I felt like one wrong step could do some damage. Even now, if I move in a certain way (like crouching down to lift up one of my cats), I feel a little twinge. I’m getting a massage this evening that will, I hope, fix this issue. I plan to start running again tomorrow.

Other than the weird hamstring problem, I feel completely normal today. Yesterday, I felt mostly normal. Sunday, I felt like if I absolutely needed to, I could run a few miles. I guess that’s a good thing. Does it mean maybe I could have pushed harder? Probably. But I am running a 50K in 5 weeks, so it’s for the best that I’m not completely trashed and useless for days.

I can’t believe after all the anticipation, hard work, setbacks, frustration, and nerves, that I’ve completed one of my big scary races for the year, and am only 5 weeks away from the other one. It felt, even the day before the race, like it was off in the nebulous not-too-distant future, but wouldn’t ever happen. I worried things would go wrong pre-race, like they did with Curnow, or during the race, like with the Superior 25K. I wondered what business I had thinking I could or should run a marathon. I wondered what the point was. I secretly hoped I’d magically be faster on race day. I wondered if I would be last.

I’m glad to have a break from the long trips up north to run on the course. I feel now like I know it well enough that I won’t have to do that anymore, at least until I move up to a longer distance… Someday.

Moose Mountain Marathon Goals

I am tired. Less than 12 hours from now, I’ll be at the starting line for the Moose Mountain Marathon. I hope. I guess after what happened with Curnow I am convinced that even at this late hour something can go wrong. Especially since I felt crappy all afternoon. I had too much caffeine and not enough food, or something, and my heart rate’s been high. I spent a few hours volunteering at race check-in, handing out race t-shirts and answering questions and basically pretending this race isn’t going to happen, that it’s still at some far-off time in the future.

Denial ends tomorrow, I guess. Let’s just hope I can sleep.

Goals:
A Standard: 8:30:00
B Standard: 9:00:00
C Standard: 9:59:59

Same goals as Curnow. Based on my training runs, 10 hours is probably too conservative; I am not sure what would have to happen in order to be out there that long, but anything can happen. My left hamstring is tight and I’ve been off my feet since Monday trying to rest it. Maybe it’ll snap or something. Knock wood.

The usual non-pace-related goals apply: I don’t want to puke, become incontinent, pass out, or otherwise have a medical emergency. I want to avoid poison ivy and hypothermia. I don’t want to get swept. I want to pull myself out of tough mental or physical stretches of the race. I want to keep moving. That’s the mantra. Keep. Moving.

I’ve still got to lay out my race clothes and pack up my hydration pack. There’s an opportunity for drop bags, but I decided to simplify things and skip them. I’m going to carry most of what I need, and scavenge the aid stations for the rest. Then I’m going to crawl into bed and try to fall asleep early. Hahahaha.

Oh man, I just want to get through this race happy and healthy. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask.

Moose Mountain Marathon Training: Week 5

A taper of sorts.

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 5.3 mi, trail (Lakewalk), 132 bpm
Wednesday: 6.7 mi, road, 131 bpm
Thursday: 7.3 mi (4 x 1 mi), paved trail (Munger), 147 bpm
Friday: rest
Saturday: 6.2 mi, trail (SHT @ Becks Rd), 144 bpm
Sunday: 9 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk), 144 bpm
Total: 34.6 mi

Winter is coming. It’s depressing to think about, and the weather is still nice so it’s easy to forget, but it’s looming. The days are shortening, and I’m starting to realize I can’t lollygag around home and still get in a workout before dark. Twice this week I was caught out at dusk with no headlamp and no reflective vest.

Monday I took a rest day because my hips were hurting. I wasn’t especially concerned because both sides hurt and it felt more like muscular soreness than a real injury, but I did not want to take any chances. I don’t really like to take Mondays as rest days, since it means I don’t have flexibility later in the week, but sometimes it’s necessary. I felt much better on Tuesday so clearly it was worth it.

Tuesday & Wednesday: boring runs of no interest.

Thursday I ran 4×1 mile on the Munger Trail and it was hard. My hamstrings did not like it. I felt for awhile like they were on the verge of snapping, like violin strings, when one slight turn of the peg would be too much.
My repeats were:
9:20 @ 175 bpm, 9:30 @ 176 bpm, 9:34 @ 175 bpm, 9:40 @ 173 bpm
I had to slow a bit on the 3rd repeat because I thought I was going to barf up my energy bar, and on the 4th repeat I guess I just got gassed. Strava says I set a mile PR. Hooray I guess.

Friday I had planned to run and didn’t and that was fine. Saturday I did a trail run and bonked like 3 miles in, thanks to some bad timing. I had a gel and felt better but it was still not the best run.

Sunday I ran the Lakewalk from Brighton Beach to Canal Park, which was one of my goals for the season. I didn’t really want to run 14 miles, so I wasn’t sure what to do, then had an epiphany, I could ask my husband to pick me up at the Rose Garden and drive me back to my car. I try hard not to ask him to do stuff like that too often, but the Rose Garden is fairly close to my house (not close enough to run! and all uphill), so it wasn’t a huge burden for him. The Rose Garden/Leif Erikson park is a Pokestop, which meant it was crawling with people not paying attention. Canal Park was also teeming with tourists. I should have known this, and attempted the run anyway, so it’s my own fault.

I managed to do yoga or some other quick strength training almost every day this past week, so I am going to pat myself on the back. I guess the hip soreness scared me into getting my stretches in. Now it’s time to take it easy with a lot of gentle running leading up to the race on Saturday.

Moose Mountain Marathon Training: Week 4

My last big week before the race!

Monday: 6.2 mi, trail (Western Waterfront trail), 134 bpm
Tuesday: 5.4 mi, trail (SHT starting @ Magney), 151 bpm
Wednesday: rest (yoga)
Thursday: 7.3 mi (8 x 0.5 mi), paved trail (Munger), 143 bpm
Friday: 5.7 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk), 126 bpm
Saturday: 14.4 mi, trail (SHT @ Lutsen), 144 bpm
Sunday: 5.5 mi, paved trail (Bong Bridge), 130 bpm
Total: 44.4 mi

Last week was an eventful week. Monday, I found a new trail, the Western Waterfront trail. It is accessible from the Munger trail near the Munger Inn. It’s not a really long trail, but I wasn’t able to traverse the entire trail due to construction. This gravel trail follows the St. Louis River in west Duluth, with nice views and very little traffic, at least when I was on it. I will have to give the entire trail a shot some time, once I’m confident the construction work has passed by.

Tuesday, in addition to running, I did some trail work on the Superior Hiking Trail. I was able to sign up through an event at my work, so I can’t really call it volunteering, as I got paid. We assisted with a trail re-route near Keene Creek, including moving a small footbridge (the one that crosses the creek right before the trail goes under the freeway). I got to meet Larry, who is responsible for trail maintenance on the Duluth sections of the SHT, and give him a big thank you for the great trail conditions. I used a glorified rake called a MacLeod (?) to do final grading of a section of the trail, and removed roots and weeds from the trail. I was planning on running right after we completed the work, but it was 88F so I went and got an iced latte and cooled down for awhile before running in the late afternoon instead.

Thursday’s speed workout left me with horribly tight hamstrings both Friday and Saturday. Each day, it took a couple miles to loosen them up. Friday I went running on the Lakewalk and saw a bear. That was exciting. There was a chain link fence between the bear and me, but the fence wasn’t actually containing the bear. S/he was just chowing down near Tischer Creek. At first I thought it was a large dog, then backtracked realizing, no, that’s not a dog.

bear jamboroo

It’s a freaking Country Bear Jamboroo on the Lakewalk.

I’ve spent hours and hours running alone in the wilderness but I see a bear on a well-traveled paved trail in the city. Of course.

Saturday I trekked back up to Lutsen to finish my recon of the marathon course. All I had left to do was the Oberg to finish section, which I’ve already done as it is the Superior 25K course. And oh yeah, it sucked last time. I found it challenging this time around, but not nearly as difficult as I did back in May. I was able to scale Moose Mountain and Mystery Mountain without stopping (though Moose Mountain was still incredibly tough), although I know when I’ve got 20+ miles on my legs, it’s going to be a lot harder. I can attribute my improved ability on the course to a couple of factors: 1. Improved fitness (I think) 2. Better weather (cooler in August than in May, that is odd) 3. Managed expectations (I knew that Mystery Mountain would go on forever, so I was mentally prepared). The first few miles of the run were tough due to my tight hamstrings. I had to pick around a lot of rocks and roots and didn’t have the maneuverability I’d have like. I had to stop a couple of times to practice my latrine-digging skills, so that was a bit annoying, but that was only due to poor planning/timing, not stomach issues. I encountered a group of ladies hiking on the trail, hearing them before I saw them as one was wearing bells to scare off wildlife (I assume). Jokes on you, lady: all the bears are in Duluth.

Sunday my hips hurt, so I didn’t push too hard on my recovery run. I ran across the Bong Bridge from Duluth to Superior (and then back again), which was cool, but not as cool as I’d have liked.

It is a short run; the bridge is probably less than 2 miles across. I thought at some point the view would be breathtaking, but I never quite got my socks knocked off. I don’t plan to run this route often, but I wanted to give it a try at least once.

This was probably one of the most interesting training weeks I’ve had, with something notable happening every single day (new trail, wildlife encounters, trail work). I am pleased I’ve been enjoying running again lately; it means the break I took in July to get my head straight was worth the time off training. Never dismiss the power of a mental health break.

Moose Mountain Marathon Training: Week 3

The week ended not with a bang, but a whimper. However, overall it was a good week.

Monday: 7 mi, road, 138 bpm
Tuesday: 6.3 mi, trail (SHT starting @ Highland/Getchell), 144 bpm
Wednesday: 5 mi, road/trail (including 8x Chester Bowl ski hill), 146 bpm
Thursday: rest (yoga)
Friday: 20.4 mi, trail (SHT, Sawbill to Temperance to Oberg to Sawbill), 152 bpm
Saturday: rest
Sunday: rest
Total: 38.8 mi

I had a great week of running, capped off by a weekend of doing nothing. I had planned for Saturday to be a rest day, as I was heading down to the Twin Cities overnight, but I had also planned on running Sunday after returning to Duluth. I didn’t. Oh well.

Friday’s run was VERY important. I was pretty nervous about the section of the course I ran, starting from Sawbill and heading back to Temperance River where I turned around last week, then ran through Sawbill (stopping at my car to throw some stuff away and refill my sports drink bottle) to the Oberg parking lot, then turned around and went back to Sawbill.

The profile looks a little scary.

MMM4

Yeah, that climb out of Temperance scared me. But it wasn’t really that bad! Carlton Peak gets fairly technical at the top, but it isn’t a straight up climb, and none of the climbs are too frightening. (Photo from the race website.)MMM3

Here’s what the elevation profile looks like from my GPS data. MUCH more manageable, no?

I ate a lot more during this run. I had 2 protein bars, 4 gels, and about 32 oz of sports drink. I didn’t feel like I truly bonked during this run, like I did last time, and I didn’t have any horrible, frustrating rage. Man shall not live on gels alone, I learned. I think I have a good idea of what I need to carry with me during the race, and I’ll supplement by stuffing my face at aid stations as I am able.

I’m starting to get excited for the race, and almost maybe a little bit confident, or at least much less pessimistic. I’ve got food, clothing, and gear nailed down already, and I’ve got one more date with the course (and my friend Moose Mountain) this Saturday. Less than 3 weeks to go!

Moose Mountain Marathon Training: Week 2

I’m living in denial. This marathon isn’t less than a month away. Everything’s fine.

Monday: 5.1 mi, road, 142 bpm
Tuesday: 7.2 mi, trail (SHT starting @ Twin Ponds), 157 bpm
Wednesday: 5.2 mi, road/trail (including 7x Chester Bowl ski hill), 152 bpm
Thursday: rest (30 min of yoga)
Friday: 5.2 mi, paved trail (Lakewalk), 141 bpm + 20 mins of yoga
Saturday: 15.9 mi, trail (SHT @ Cramer Rd), 155 bpm
Sunday: 5.2 mi, road, 135 bpm
Total: 43.7 mi

Definitely a quality week of workouts. But also a reminder that I don’t feel very ready for a marathon.

One notable stat to mention is my average heart rate on these runs. Half of them have average heart rates over the target of 143 bpm I had when I was doing MAF training. I’m not sure if this is good or bad. It’s freeing, not being tethered to that monitor and obsessing over staying aerobic. But now I’m in a sort of no-woman’s-land, with some aerobic workouts, some that are mostly aerobic, and some spots where I’m hitting my max heart rate (or thereabouts). It’s probably not good to hit my max heart rate on a long run. But what am I supposed to do when there’s a huge steep hill to climb? Climb it, heart rate be damned.

I was fairly pleased with my run on Tuesday. It was HOT when I started, although I waited til about 6:15 pm to start, so I didn’t have the blazing sun on me. I managed a much faster pace than I normally do for trail training runs, even on the steep climb I hit after leaving the Lincoln Park area. Between that run and my hill workout the next night, I was feeling pretty confident about my training.

Saturday I ran the first ~8 miles of the Moose Mountain Marathon course. I’ll have some details on that run later, but I made some key observations during this run. First, even with all the climbing I’ve been doing, I’m still not in super great shape for the big climbs. I really struggled on the way up from the Temperance River after I turned around, and I know that the climb out of the river is even harder in the opposite direction, since it crests Carlton Peak. I am nervous about that. I was swearing and getting frustrated during miles 10-12 on Saturday. I think I can also attribute that to poor nutrition. I need to be better about timing my food so that I’ve got energy during a climb. I pulled myself together once after those few low miles, but I was really, REALLY cranky for awhile. And also very nervous, because of the challenges that will face me on the course next month. I guess I need to constantly stuff my face with food while running.

Sunday I was a little bit sore in the quads and stiff in general, and I lacked energy on my recovery run. Not surprising. After my run I had to sit in the car for an hour and a half to drive back, not an ideal situation. I got home from Sunday’s run just as the men’s 400m finals began, so I got to see Wayde van Nienkirk’s amazing race. Perfect timing.

Somewhere on Sunday, while I was cursing and grumbling, I surpassed 1000 miles for the year. I’m less than 200 miles from surpassing my total miles for 2015, so I’m on track for this to be my biggest year yet!