My First Ultra

I have my first ultra this weekend!

…Meaning that I’m volunteering at an ultra this weekend. My friend Emily and I are volunteering at the Superior Fall Trail Races, starting at 3 AM on Saturday. Yes, 3 AM, loading 50 milers on the bus, then working the finish line in whatever capacity we are needed. We are driving up on Friday night and staying in a communal townhome graciously provided by the race director for volunteers.

I would like to run a 100 mile race someday. Right now that seems like an impossibility, since I haven’t run in almost a week. (I am feeling better but am not sleeping well, so I have prioritized additional rest over pushing too hard.) But someday it won’t be. I won’t be winning the Western States Endurance Run or anything like that, but I would still like the experience. More than once, preferably. Before I start training for a 50k or trail marathon, I want to see what ultrarunning is really all about. I assume volunteering is probably a pretty good way to figure that out. For a novice, plodding runner like me, it’s better than showing up underprepared to a race I end up DNFing. Which I guess I could probably end up doing anyway.

The 100 mile race starts Friday at 8 AM at Gooseberry Falls, the 50 mile race starts Saturday at 5:30 AM at the Finland Rec Center, and the Moose Mountain Marathon starts Saturday at 8 AM at the Cramer Road Trailhead. All races are on the Superior Hiking Trail and finish in Lutsen at Caribou Highlands Lodge. It’s not mountainous like many of the popular races are, but it’s pretty relentless, from what I hear. I definitely want to try this race series someday. We’ll see if I feel that way after getting vomited on at the finish line or something.

I look forward to learning a lot, taking some notes, having some fun, and giving a “race report” next week. And I hope I’ll be able to get in a long run (double digits) on Sunday, if I’m not a zombie.

Speaking of the Superior Hiking Trail, this man is planning to set an unsupported Fastest Known Time on the SHT, starting today! He’ll start at the tip of the Arrowhead and head south, and plans on doing the trail in under 6 days. Other FKT attempts can be seen here. Good luck, Steven!

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 6

A great start to the week derailed by a summer cold.

Monday: 4.1 (road)
Tuesday: 5.2 (40 min @ tempo, Lakewalk)
Wednesday: planned rest day
Thursday: 5.7 (Trails, Hartley)
Friday: planned rest day
Saturday: unplanned rest day
Sunday: unplanned rest day
Total: 15

I have been firing on all cylinders of late, and so I’m extremely frustrated to have gotten sick. I caught the cold from my husband, so I am not too worried about catching it due to overtraining/stress/whatever. My confidence is shot, though. I sneezed a couple times Thursday night as I was going to bed, and woke up with a full-blown cold on Friday. There went my planned 9-mile “fake race,” and my plans to shuffle my schedule around to accommodate the upcoming weekend by running a long trail run either Monday or today before school. I haven’t even done strength training or yoga. I suppose I could have, but I think all that would have done was set me back on returning to health.

My biggest concern isn’t regaining my strength. I’ve been lethargic the whole weekend and I’ve slept poorly, but I know the strength is still there. It’s my aerobic fitness. I have enough trouble on some of the bigger ascents on my runs, and I really wanted to get to a place where I could get up the 130 or so steps at the beginning of the race course without stopping or needing to recover once at the top. I need my lungs to recover quickly, and I need this cold to not have done any lasting damage to them. I know that sounds dramatic, but I’m not particularly aerobically fit to begin with, so I don’t have a large margin for error.

I dreamed about the race on Sunday night. Obviously this was a result of my drop in confidence. In my dream, I was completely unprepared for the race. I forgot almost everything I needed, except for a water bottle, and I was carrying around a flannel shirt with me. I showed up at the starting line needing to pee, and missed the start looking for a bathroom, which I didn’t find. The course wasn’t at all what I expected, and it went through buildings and out trapdoors and stuff. It was all very strange. I was running pretty fast in my dream, so at least that part was good. I woke up before the race ended, so I can’t tell if I ended up bonking or otherwise paying for my lack of preparation and speedy pace.

I am really hoping I feel well enough by the time I’m done with school today to go for at least a short run. Nothing short of getting back on the trails will ease my mind.

Misadventures in Trail Running

Last week’s long run looked a little funky, with 10.7 miles split up into one short run and one longer run. It has a story and some lessons to go along with it.

I didn’t do any running on the Harder ‘n Hell race course last week, but I did do a fair bit of trail running. I had all these grand plans earlier this year to run all these different places, and I hadn’t really done any of them. So I planned to do my Sunday long run at Tettegouche State Park, a bit over an hour away from Duluth up the North Shore.

I didn’t plan ahead, and it cost me. First, I trusted my GPS, rather than looking at a map. DO NOT TRUST THE GPS TO TAKE YOU TO TETTEGOUCHE STATE PARK. It took me to a service entrance, and then once I was at the service entrance, I had no data, so I couldn’t figure out how to get back. The park is aware of it and has a nice sign up with directions on how to get to the actual beginning of the park.

Once I got there, I drove to the trailhead near the falls. It linked up with the Superior Hiking Trail, so I jumped on the trail, which had more people than I would have liked, but it kept me going slow and steady. Unfortunately, I had to pee. I was an idiot and didn’t stop at the rest area at the park entrance. I figured I’d wait til I got away from the touristy area of the park and then hop off the trail. Instead, I was running through the campsites. I thought hey, there’s a bathroom up ahead, I’ll use that, but it was closed. Ugh. Then I realized I was running in a circle and would soon end up at my car. That was enough. I got back in my car, drove back to the rest area, used the bathroom, and then headed back southwest on 61. I decided I’d go to Split Rock instead.

After a few turns along the way and one mad dash across Highway 61 (no cars were coming but I still felt a little freaked out running across a highway), I ended up on the Superior Hiking Trail, and I cruised along. Relatively speaking. I felt fantastic on the run, despite the heat and the poor air quality. If I’d thought ahead, I’d have brought my sunscreen along to reapply, since it was basically useless after probably 2 hours in the car plus half an hour on the trails at Tettegouche. I was amazed at how nice my legs felt through most of the run, until I was on my way back and took a slightly different route and ended up running up several flights of stairs along Lake Superior. This was over 8 miles in, and I thought the steps would be the death of me, but I ended up surviving them and only dragged a little over the final mile. Hooray for me.

I need to plan a little better for these long runs. I drove a lot of unnecessary distance, and I got frustrated running down the “wrong” paths. If I am driving a couple hours round trip, I need to bring some supplies along and plan my routes (driving and running) with a little research. I will give Tettegouche another shot after some additional research, and find some gorgeous views along the way, I am sure. Split Rock was fun, and in the end I turned in a darn good long run.

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 5

Another fantastic week.

Monday: Off (I got a new kitten and didn’t want to leave him alone!)
Tuesday: 5, 4x Chester Bowl
Wednesday: 5.6, road
Thursday: 4.4, trail (Park Point)
Friday: 3.4, trail (Hartley)
Saturday: 3.1, trail (SHT starting at Martin Rd)
Sunday: 1.4 + 9.3, trail (1.4 at Tettegouche, 9.3 at Split Rock/SHT)
Total: 32.2

Another week over 30 miles, that’s excellent. It’s warm again here, and so I’m getting a little more heat training. My 9-mile Sunday run was actually a minute per mile faster than my 7-mile Sunday run in week 4, so that was exciting!

I didn’t plan to have Monday off, but I saw a kitten Monday morning that I just HAD to HAVE, so I went and got him. This has put me in an odd situation because I’ll end up running 8 days in a row, but I felt pretty strong even on Sunday after I finished the run, so I am pretty sure I’ll make it.

Harder ‘N Hell Half Training: Week 4

A monster training week.

Monday: 4.5, trail (Bagley)
Tuesday: 5, treadmill (8×400 repeats)
Wednesday: 4, road
Thursday: rest
Friday: 5, trail (Hartley)
Saturday: 5, trail (SHT starting at Spirit Mountain)
Sunday: 7.3, trail (SHT from Getchell to Twin Ponds)
Total: 30.7

Last week was a good week. I probably increased the mileage too much, but I have been lower on mileage than I wanted so far in this training cycle. I am averaging 23 miles/week, which is really low. Obviously I had a bad week 2, but still.

Friday’s run was decent for the most part. I always enjoy running at Hartley. I came across a friend who was biking (actually we had a near-miss, as I was running across a long section of planks and was halfway through when his friend came around the corner of the trail and had to stop at the last minute before riding on to the planks), which was a first. Two minutes after I saw him I wasn’t paying attention and tripped. I landed hard, face-first, and ended up with a stiff neck the next day. I am glad it wasn’t worse, but I need to remember to PICK UP MY FEET.

Over the weekend I spent some significant time on the race course. Saturday I ran a depressing out and back over the first 2.5 miles of the trail. I felt kind of sluggish during the run, but I had a decent time on the stairs of death, only stopping once to catch my breath. There was a family waiting at the top so I felt stupid once I got up there, since they were probably waiting for me to huff and puff my way up. I staggered through the seemingly endless uphill on the way back, reminding myself that I’d not be racing that way (poor 100k runners, they will be!), but it was a bit disheartening.

Sunday I dropped my car off at Twin Ponds and then was dropped off at the Getchell/Highland parking lot. It was misty and cool, and I had on long tights and a lightweight long-sleeved tee, which was a little much. The long tights were fine, but a short-sleeved shirt and some arm warmers would have been better, I think. I didn’t get overheated but a little more ventilation would have been good.

I spent the first part of the run feeling a little nervous and exhilarated, partly because it was windy and partly because I was afraid that my car was so far away. On an out and back, I can always double back early if needed. With a point to point run, I am committed to the distance. I had my phone (in a plastic bag, since it could have rained), lip balm, a roll of mints (for nausea or for dry mouth), my keys, and an energy bar all tucked in the pockets of my handhelds (I brought both). It’s a little more than I carry for a normal run, but it eased my mind.

I practiced a little nutrition experimentation. Around the halfway mark, maybe a little before, I ate half the energy bar I’d brought with. It was a pain in the butt, as the wrapper was hard to open and the bar was hard to tear. I wanted to just tear a chunk off, but it required a significant amount of force and torque to get even a small piece to eat. I ate the second half when I was nearing Enger Tower (a bit over 6 miles in), but I felt pretty gross after eating it. Mints to the rescue! I guess I can see the appeal of gels. I’ll have to give them a try, although I think for longer runs I still need solid food in my stomach to keep it from growling. We’ll see. I did get a nice boost in my step after eating, so I was glad to have the snack.

The best part about the run (physically speaking; the best part about the run OVERALL is the incredible view) was how I felt at the end. I was pretty excited to see my car and I had plenty of energy left in my legs to kick into another gear. I texted my friend David (who is also running the race) “WE ARE GOING TO DO THIS!!! IT’S GOING TO BE AWESOME!!!” Of course 7.3 miles is not 13.1, and I didn’t include the hardest part of the course, but still. I felt much more confident than I have been feeling lately! I may be slow, and I may be the last finisher, but I feel like I can run strong, and if I can have another 8 fantastic weeks of training, maybe I’ll surprise myself come race day.

Weathering the Weather

It’s been chilly here in Duluth the past few days. Like, down in the mid-50s during the day chilly, which is tropical in May, but frigid when it was 90 degrees just a few days prior. It’s all relative.

Tuesday, it rained all day, and I had to do something horrible. I ran on the treadmill. It sucked. It was a good opportunity to do some consistent speedwork though, so I switched up my days and did 8×400 on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I was sweating in the basement and watching Star Trek: First Contact in order to try to keep myself from looking at the treadmill clock every half a second. It didn’t work. I did run pretty fast though, 8×400 at 10:54 pace. Probably a little too fast, but I don’t care.

Wednesday I ran outside on the road, but I wore a (lightweight) long-sleeved shirt. That was depressing. I was a little bit too warm by the end, but it was drizzly and there was a mean wind, so it was probably for the best. I ran way, way too fast. I treated myself to some music during the run (90s gangsta rap) and I got really into it. I ended up with around a 14 minute pace, which is TOO FAST for an easy run, especially after a tough workout the day before.

It’s easy to run fast when the temperature’s cooler. My Monday and Wednesday runs were both significantly faster than normal. On Monday I ran the hilly Bagley course at a 15:23 pace, one of my fastest paces on that course, and it didn’t feel that difficult. I even hiked up the big hill. Wednesday’s run was over 2 minutes faster than I normally run the same route on an easy day. They say fall PRs are made in summer heat, and I am a believer!

I am lucky today is a rest day so I can slow my roll; I need to take the easy days easy, even when I’m feeling great. I also need to be careful that the sharp drop in temperature doesn’t result in a cough or cold, as it can for me. I need some solid runs on the trails over the weekend and a great overall training week. It should be back in the 70s by Friday, so I think it’s likely!

(Whoops, this published early. I corrected it.)

Running Just To Be On The Run

I really love this song.

This past Saturday, I ran a “practice” 10K. It was both part of my training plan (actually it has a 5K, 10K, and 15K scheduled, but I switched around the order to accommodate a 5K in September) and a Strava challenge I registered for (Run a 10K in August). I also took it as a chance to see how my speed is holding up. The answer was not well.

I used both the app and my watch to record the workout, because I wanted to be able to see my pace at any time and see my splits, like I would do in a real race. I parked at Brighton Beach and warmed up with a short run underneath London Road, starting from the other side of that tunnel.

My speed was not holding up. It didn’t go well. Once again, the heat got to me. I also planned to run this workout like a race, but didn’t prepare like it was a race. Note to self: a Frappuccino 3 hours beforehand is only going to hinder my running abilities. I also should have soaked myself before running to stay cool. My plan went from trying to average a 12:00 pace (lasted 1 mile) to trying to negative split the run in order to salvage it. I wanted to negative split the run by both Strava’s and my watch’s measurements, since I had to stop for a car a couple times on the way out, which Strava doesn’t count in my splits. Here’s how it all went down:

Mile 1: 12:01 (Strava) 12:06
Mile 2: 13:25 (Strava) 13:31
Mile 3: 14:07 (Strava) 14:35
Mile 4: 13:44 (Strava) 14:00
Mile 5: 13:25 (Strava) 13:30
Mile 6: 12:51 (Strava) 12:59
+0.36: 11:07 pace (Strava) ??? (watch)
Overall: 13:07 (Strava) 13:20 (watch)

Yuck. But this kind of intrigued me and now I really want to improve at the 10K distance. It’s a hard distance, because the pace is still fast, similar to a 5K pace, but it’s twice as long (duh), so it’s more taxing on the body. I kind of like the challenge. Now I need to look at a list of races to see what might be available late late late in the year or in the spring…