I was supposed to run 20 miles this morning for my log run leading up to the Marquette Trail 50 mile run in August. Except I only ran 5. Actually I covered 5 miles, but most of the fifth mile was spent walking, reflecting and watching satellites zoom overhead.
Yes, ultrarunning is hard. And I’m likely dropping from the Marquette Trail 50 miler again this year.
After the 50k I ran on January 2nd, my running imploded. I intentionally took a couple weeks of rest / relaxation after that race, and then some things happened at work over the course of a few weeks – some planned and some not – that impacted my ability to run what I wanted / needed to run. After that much time of inconsistent running, my head was out of the game.
Within the last couple weeks I realized that if I’m still running the MT50, and I still planned too, I had to start training seriously. Except – one can’t just jump right back into training for an ultra without really training to train for an ultra. It was foolish think I can hop right back into running 35 mile weeks right out of the gate after not running that kind of mileage for a few months. And so I sit here with a with pain in my knee and pain in my foot.
Just after starting my fifth mile this morning, I stopped to watch a satellite zoom across the sky. Once I started hobbling forward again, it was only a couple minutes before I stopped again. My heart wasn’t in it.
At that point I realized I had – No head. No heart. No feet.
It’s also at that point I realized ultrarunning is hard. It’s not just training for the miles, but it’s training the mind. It’s training yourself to get up at crazy hours. It’s training yourself to run through shit weather. It’s training yourself to push through pain. It’s training yourself to sacrifice time with family.
What I learned this morning is – you can’t just jump back right to where you were.
So with that … I don’t know.
I don’t know what’s next. Will it be an ultra? Or a marathon? Half marathon? I’m not sure. I need some time to heal my knee and my foot. I need some time to rebuild my head and get my heart into training for something again.
Not gonna lie – it’s been a tough few months of running. The year started with a bang when I ran really well in the Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 50k.
It’s since fizzled. Life happens, it’s all good, you push through work, being ill, whatever, and get back to running as time permits. As I’ve stated on the blog before, I love to run, but on the list of my priorities, it falls below family and work so sometimes I run into stretches where I don’t get out as much as I want.
In any case, I found myself a bit frustrated this morning. It was a short run (4 miles), I was running slower than I’d like, my knee kinda hurt, and I was generally bummed that I wasn’t where I should be with my running – especially with my first 50 miler coming this summer.
I thought about how I’m not running as fast, or as far, or as often as many others who’re training for similar races. I follow some pretty stout athletes on twitter / strava / wordpress (I’m likely looking at YOU!), in part to keep me motivated and in part to learn something. The downside is – when they’re crushing it, and I’m not, it can be a bit of a downer.
Then I remembered … I’m not running their race. I’m not running their training run. I’m not running their pace. I’m not running for them. I’m running for me, and for my race. That’s what’s important. And as long as I’m doing the best I can at any given time, it’s all good.
If you find your self in a similar mindset, remember – it’s YOUR run!
So with that, here’s a picture from MY race, the Marquette Trail 50k, to remind me of what I’m headed back to this summer for 50 miles.
beautiful lake superior
In other news, @henryhoward wrote a cool article on my WSER goal – check it out, he did a great job!
When I originally started this blog, I wanted to target the Mohican 100 as my first 100 mile run in mid-June 2017. However after giving this some thought recently, I decided to instead focus on the Indiana Trail 100. And that has me excited.
Seriously – I’m excited about Indiana! Yeah, I didn’t think I’d ever utter those words …
Why the change?
I want to push this Western States goal. Yes, I want to run a couple of 50 milers before moving up to a 100, but I wanted to run a 100 mile race sooner vs. later. Thus, I started poking around at the WSER qualifying list to see which races were early in the year. And I found that the Indiana Trail 100 was in April – and a qualifier.
I see a few benefits to this …
This ideally sets up up to run a couple of 100 milers next year – Indiana and possibly Hallucination.
The Indiana Trail 100 is closer to home, making the weekend ideally less impactful to my family.
The course appears to be less technical than Mohican. Ideally good for a first 100 miler.
The downside though …
The course appears to be less technical than Mohican. The Mohican course looks sweet, but I’ll pass on that if it allows me the potential to get in a couple 100s next year.
I would still love to run Mohican. Perhaps in 2018? I know the chances are very slim that my name will be drawn for Western after only one qualifying race. Thus, there will likely be other years I’ll need to qualify.
What race are you most excited for in your future?
I began the year with hopes of returning to the KalHaven Trail Run, where I ran my first Ultra last spring. I thought it’d be cool to see what a year of Ultra running would do to my time. Unfortunately work had other plans. And by work, I mean me – I’m the one that originally scheduled this maintenance window (I’m a computer nerd) without checking the schedule against the races I wanted to run this year.
*Sigh*
Thus, the last few weeks – since I realized I can’t run KalHaven – have been a bit off the rails from a running perspective. There were other reasons too, but I’ve already covered them.
Winter training – trying to dig out of the Hole
Truth be told, after the minimal running over the few weeks, I was also starting to fall back into the Hole. A few days ago my alarm went off to run, I silenced it, rolled over in bed and told my wife – I need to find a race to run this spring so I can get my shit together. I then went back to sleep.
Well, I found the next race and I’m pretty excited about it. I’ve never run out at Pinckney, but I’ve heard awesome things – especially the Potowatami trail where we’ll be running.
I’d considered it earlier in the year, but dismissed it thinking there was a conflict between it and the 5k at our local Nature Center where I’m volunteering and my daughter is running the kids run (her first run – she wants to learn to run w/me this year – awesome!!). Well – upon further review, the 5k is Saturday and the 50k is Sunday. Woohoo!
Now that I have my sights set on a race that I can train for, here’s to digging the rest of the way out of the Hole.
In other news, it’s Super Bowl Sunday – who are you rooting for? I knew you’d say the Broncos! – Go Broncos!
Also, what’s your go to beer, or wine, or spirit, for the game? I’m going with Bells Hopslam. It’s awesome.
Why not start 2016 with a bang? While most were still hung over from New Year’s (when I went to bed at 11:57pm – just because I couldn’t care less about the ball drop), I ran 30 miles. Me and almost 340 other runners met in the early morning cold, at Yankee Springs Recreation Area, on the second to run between 10k – 50miles.
I’ve hiked the YSRA many times (I even saw the elusive eastern massasauga rattlesnake there once – Michigan’s only venomous snake), but I’ve never run there. When I hiked there, it’s always been the same 4 mile loop so I didn’t really know what to expect for this two-lap race.
My daughters decorating the most awesome drop bag.
After my typical pre-race meal of PB&J, I headed North and arrived at Yankee Springs, under the cover of darkness, about 7am – an hour or so before the race. A short walk took me over the lodge where I picked up my number, race gloves and a pretty sweet long sleeve tshirt.
After a quick pit-stop at the port o Jonathans, it was back to the car to hang out and stay warm until time to race. I double checked my UD SJ vest, pinned my number to my pants, and strapped on my Yaktrax. Thank goodness I had them along. The ground was covered under a layer of ice from a recent ice storm. They proved very beneficial.
Before the start of the 2016 Yankee Springs Winter Challenge
About 5 minutes prior to the race, I walked across the parking lot, dropped my drop bag, took a quick pre-race picture and took my place at the start line. I find the start of ultras to be very chill and I love that. No Metallica. No pyrotechnics. No jumping around. Just a ‘hello’ from the RD, a quick countdown from 10, and we’re off.
I started out the first lap at a pace that felt very slow. As I’d been running at a low HR for a couple of months, I decided to try to keep it down through the first of two loops. I wasn’t shooting for zone 3 like my training runs, but definitely trying to keep things in zone 4 – as opposed to my first 50k where I jacked myself into zone 5 4 miles into the race and subsequently blew up.
A couple miles in I caught a gal and just kinda hung behind her for a bit. She was running pretty much the exact pace I wanted to run. I didn’t want to pass and force myself to run any faster trying to keep from slowing her down, but I think she didn’t really love having me hanging so close behind either – she felt like she was holding me up. We chatted a bit about running and family and then about 6 miles in I stopped to remove my jacket and let her roll on. My jacket – the UD Ultra Jacket, is sweet. After a few more runs in that, I’ll have a review on here.
At this point I was all alone, where I stayed for the majority of the first lap.
I came up a hill about 8 miles into the race and saw a guy standing with cooler and a radio in the tree behind him …
But … I figured, what the hell? It was only about 3 or 4 ounces, what could it hurt? The first lap – nothing, all was good. I did pass on the chicken though.
Shortly after that, I rolled into my first aid station (third on the course). I had a really odd experience. I could smell the campfire on the way up the hill and shouted something about it smelling wonderful. I walked up and thanked the folks for being there and they all totally ignored me. No one said a word. I don’t know if it’s cause I had my GoPro on, and it freaked them out, or what. One dude was cutting pickles. Another was telling him not to slice his thumb off. And 3 or 4 people were sitting around the campfire ignoring me.
Oh well. I thanked them nonetheless and rolled on – right into the toughest part of the course. Terrain-wise, it was cool – hilly and challenging, but it really slowed me down. I walked most of the up hills and tried to roll through the icy downhills as best as I could. It was in this section that I started to see the gal I ran with earlier in the race.
I pushed on through this section, still trying to keep my HR under control and came out of this to the last aid station. The gal I was chasing chose to skip it, but I stopped to refill my bottle.
They were stoked about my camera.
Hey, are we on camera!?
Me: Do you mind?
No!
Me: Cool, I don’t think the last group appreciated it.
I thought I turned it on, but apparently all I got was this picture. Notice the dude on the right – I thought he was wearing a baby out in the cold. No – it was a dog.
This stop rejuvenated me and I begin running pretty well after this. It was also about this time that I decided to shit-can the heart rate running. I was going to push it into, and through, the second lap.
I caught the gal I’d run with earlier and wished her well. This was her first ultra and she was going to stop for some traction between laps and I rolled into lap 2 feeling very good.
I stopped to take a picture of lap 2, a couple miles in, and that killed my phone. It froze up. Oh well, onwards!
I felt really good the first half of lap 2 and passed quite a few people. Whatever quite a few people is in an ultra, in the winter. Probably more than 5, but less than 10. Not bad in a race of 64 runners though.
At one point I remember seeing an Oreo on the ground.
Damn that looks good! I thought.
Fortunately for me, a couple miles further and I happened on an aid station – and they had Oreos! I choked one down (it seemed hard to eat) and it tasted delicious.
I was still feeling good as I ran into the PBR guy again. I had no intention of stopping – I was running well. But he asked again. And … that’s all it took for me to stop. Now he had a group with him. I chatted a couple minutes and one of the guys I’d passed snuck by.
Then … I ran out of gas. I don’t think it was the PBR, but I think it was just stopping again so soon when I felt like I was running well. I never really got back into the groove.
I skipped the oddball aid station from lap 1 and powered forward.
With about 5 miles to go I passed a guy sitting down. I chatted a minute, he wasn’t feeling well, but he started moving so I moved along.
I continued to slow down and finally Alex (the guy who was sitting earlier) caught me. He wasn’t feeling well and I was gassed so we kept each other company for the last 4 miles in. Alex – if you’re reading this, nice to meet you!
Post race there was chili and beer – how can you go wrong!? Well, you can go wrong by leaving your ID in the car and being too lazy to go get it. So for me, it was just chili.
Over the course of the race I drank about 5 16oz bottles of Tailwind. This followed my typical hydration strategy pretty closely and seemed to work out well.
In the end, even though I believe it is hard to compare ultras because of the varied terrain, it was a 50k PR for me by a long shot. So I guess I’ll take that.
This wasn’t an A race for me, but rather something to keep me training through the fall / early winter. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to folks!
Aside from my new UD jacket, I received a Patagonia Air Hoody for Christmas. I know you’re not supposed to wear something new in a race, but I did. And it was awesome. I love how the hood keeps the neck warm and when up can be pulled up over the face. I’d highly recommend it.
As I mentioned earlier, I was wearing my GoPro. That was a first for me and here’s a short video compilation from the race …
If you want to see my Strava data, you can find it here. Otherwise, here are the just the splits:
My race fuel for the Yankee Springs Winter Challenge arrived. As I pack it away in my race vest, prepping for the coming race, I’m thinking about hydration and race day fuel.
I’ve spent much time trying to figure out the best way for me to hydrate / fuel for my training and races – either by trying different things or reading about what works for others.
I’m a runner w/Crohn’s disease, so that affects what I put in my body pre-race, and during the run. I typically go for things that are low in fiber / carbonation the day before, and during, my race. Those two items don’t sit well with my Crohn’s.
I love beer, but it’s not what I choose to carbo-load with. The carbonation in it is very uncomfortable for my Crohn’s. I’m also a big fan of Clif bars, but they don’t go near me before a race. I’ve tried it; it wasn’t fun. After a race, sure, they’re both usually the first thing I consume.
I’m sure things vary from person to person, but I thought it’d be worth sharing where I’ve landed. Perhaps it helps. Or perhaps it at least gives you some things to try – even if you’re not a runner with Crohn’s (and I’m guessing most of you aren’t).
A couple of my baseline rules are:
No beer / chicken wings / Chinese / ghost pepper sauce the night before any race, or a training run longer than 6 miles.
Drink water. All the time, regardless of whether I am running the next day. Staying hydrated makes me generally feel good. If I’m not enjoying a Michigan beer, or a stout cup of coffee, I pretty much only drink water.
I wear a UD SJ 2.0 vest to accommodate my fuel / hydration (amongst other things – we’ll get into that in another post). I love this vest (you can see it in the picture below). At this point, it’s pretty much like wearing a seatbelt – I wear it on every run.
recent grocery run, featuring the Ultimate Direction SJ 2.0 vest
Training run: If I’m running less than 10 miles, I fill both bottles with water only. I don’t need both bottles full, but I like the balance it provides having them equal weight. My watch alerts me to drink every 10 minutes and I rotate between the bottles to evenly distribute the weight through the run.
If I’m running 10 miles, or more, I fill one, or two, bottles with two scoops of Tailwind – one caffeinated and one non-caffeinated. Each bottle provides me with 200 calories and 16oz of hydration. Since the calories and electrolytes are in the liquid, I don’t have to mess w/carrying gels. Or stuffing messy gel packets in my pockets.
If it’s a really long training run, I’ll utilize the 70oz hydration pack that slides into the UD vest, and mix it at the same ratio of 200 calories per 16oz – half caffeinated and half non-caffeinated.
The combo of raspberry buzz / lemon Tailwind go together very well.
Marathon: Two 16oz bottles can’t get me through a marathon and a 70oz hydration pack isn’t very conducive to running fast. After doing some research I found that some folks mix their tailwind to a higher concentration. I tried this during my last marathon and it worked fabulously.
In each 16oz bottle I mixed 4 scoops (4o0 calories – again half and half) so I was carrying 32oz with me and 800 calories. At the end of each mile I took a small squirt of liquid – alternating between bottles, again to keep them balanced. This made the bottles last through the marathon.
I tested this ratio prior to the race to ensure my body was good with it.
However, since I wanted to drink more than 32oz over the course of the 4 hours+, I supplemented the hydration side with water at each aid station.
The bottles in the vest took care of the calories / electrolytes and the extra water from the aid stations kept me hydrated.
50k: I move slow enough during an ultra to carry the hydration pack, but I don’t – that’d be dumb with the aid that’s available. Pre-race, I fill both of my 16oz bottles with 2 scoops of Tailwind (200 calories each bottle). This time I mix one bottle caffeinated and one bottle non-caffeinated. I start the race with these in my vest along with a number of Tailwind sticks.
Rather than alternate drinks in each bottle during the race, I typically down an entire bottle first. This makes refilling one bottle, vs. two partial bottles, much easier at the aid stations. That convenience is worth more to me than the minor imbalance the bottles create. At aid stations, I fill the empty bottle and fill with one of the aforementioned Tailwind sticks, shake, and go. It works out pretty quickly and stuffing the empty Tailwind packet in my pocket isn’t as gooey and sticky as an empty gel.
The Tailwind provides me the calories / electrolytes / hydration I need through the race. So far, I haven’t had to eat anything else during an ultra. But – I haven’t run anything farther than 34 miles yet either.
Pre-race: There are times in life I still feel like a big kid. My pre-race dinner is one of these occasions. I eat Kraft mac and cheese w/hotdogs. Seriously. It’s a bland meal, provides some extra carbs, and is comforting as it reminds me of childhood. The salt in the hotdogs make me drink a little extra the night before the race. It’s wondrous.
The morning of the race I get up and eat a peanut butter and jelly a couple of hours before I run. Again, simple and bland – easy on the ole’ gut, but it helps me start the race without feeling hungry.
After that it’s me and Tailwind until the finish. So far that’s worked out well. We’ll get a chance to test it again in a few short days.
How do you fuel / hydrate for races?
Do you choose different methods for different distances?
A few minutes before I left the office yesterday one of my coworkers stopped by to wish me a Merry Christmas and chat about the family. Since he’s a runner too, the conversation always eventually ends up with us chatting about recent or upcoming races. He has a long training run this weekend as he then begins to taper for not one – but two marathons next month. Whoa.
Have fun and enjoy them!
A lot of people do, but I don’t generally tell folks ‘good luck!’ for a race. Most of us aren’t elite athletes that need a little extra luck to earn a place on the podium anyway. And really – what is luck? Per my friend Google, luck is …
success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions.
As runners, we’re involved in many actions for months leading up to a race – obviously the running, but there’s also the stretching, foam rolling, eating well, proper rest and mental preparation.
Thus, I personally don’t believe in ‘luck’ for a race.
I too have a race in early January – the 50k Yankee Springs Winter Challenge (though … I don’t know whether we will get any winter before the start).
I view it, as I do with all of my races, as the reward for all of my aforementioned actions that lead up to it. It’s the reward for the early mornings, running through the rain, missed drinks with friends on Friday nights, good runs and bad. I know I have put in the time training and preparing, I trust that training, and now it’s time to enjoy!
For me especially, being that I’m a #darkskyrunner, races are even more special. For one, they’re during the day (or at least most of the race is during the day). Running through the daylight and seeing the scenery of ultras is awesome and one of the many reasons I run them. I also run alone during almost all of my training, so being around other people during a race brings an exciting vibe that I don’t normally get. It’s fun to meet new people and share stories (and a beer) with them.
Who needs luck? Just go out and enjoy the race. Have fun. You earned it!
In about 27 hours, I’ll toe the line for my third marathon. I’m not quite sure what to think. I should be nervous, but I’m not. Excited – yes, but not nervous. I have no idea what to expect out of this race.
My original goal was to build on the fitness of my 50k in August. I’d add some speed work, keep hammering away at the long runs and go out and break 4 hours for the first time.
Instead I fought through a couple of running funks, where I couldn’t get out the door to run in the morning. They each went on for days. I ran a couple of 20 milers and lots of 10 milers, but nothing really in between. I have no idea what to expect on Sunday. At least from a time standpoint – I don’t know what to expect.
I do expect to have fun. In the end, it’s about enjoying the experience. I remember back to my first marathon (Kalamazoo last year) – jogging ever so slowly to the finish line. I’d injured myself about a month and a half prior to the race and basically hadn’t run since then. Less than a mile into the race my knee was in pain, but I pushed on. I must’ve been favoring that leg because about 16 miles in the other, non-injured, leg seized up. The muscles in the calf, hamstring and quad all locked up. They were done. But I wasn’t. I stretched it out awhile and walked for a bit and alternated between a job and walk for the next 10 miles. It seemed agonizingly slow at times, but I wasn’t going to give up.
Apparently I looked so bad that when I passed my dad and brother, who were out there to cheer me on, they were trying to decide between them who’d tell me that I should pack it and call it a day. Fortunately neither one of them suggested it.
When I crossed the finish line, I remember my eyes tearing up just a bit. I’d made it. I didn’t care what my time was, only happy that I’d finished. It was an epic experience, and before they put the finishers medal around my neck, I knew I was going to do another one.
Even though I was in pain for the entire race, and had to walk more than I ever thought I’d have to walk, I truly enjoyed the entire experience.
I’m still going to chase that 4hr mark on Sunday, but even if I miss it, I expect to have fun, enjoy the race and the beauty that is Michigan in the fall.
Around Christmas 2012, my brother told me he was running a half marathon the following summer. I remember him wearing some new blue workout pants and they looked pretty sweet. I like new gear, but I wasn’t going to buy workout pants without working out. And I didn’t work out. I thought he was crazy. But apparently that conversation planted a seed.
Fast forward a couple of months to February (the absolute nicest month in Michigan – you know, the one where the sun never peeks out of the cloud and there’s usually a foot of snow on the ground) and the seed germinated. I thought, eh, I’ll run the half marathon too. After all, they give you a beer at the end of the race. All I have to do is go out and run 6 miles today. Then 7 next week. Then 8, etc.
Why did I need to run during the week? One long run during the weekend would be great, right?
That first 6 miles was brutal and I averaged something like 12:30/mi. I made it through the 7 miler, the 8 miler, the 9 miler … well, lots of black ice on the roads so I skipped that one, the 10 miler and the 11 miler.
And that’s when I got pneumonia.
I didn’t run again for about a month, but one week before the race I ran 8 miles. BAM! I’m good right?
Mid summer 2013 – race day comes, it was in Columbus – the Capital City half Marathon. Macklemore had me all jacked up. We sang the National Anthem. Everyone was Boston Strong. And there were pyrotechnics. I was going to crush this.
Things were great for 8 miles and then BAM. I hit the wall. Hard. I struggled through the next couple of miles and then saw runners ahead finishing. But I had to turn away from the finish line and run the opposite direction. That really took the wind out of my sails. I still had another 3 to go. But I chugged along and finished.
2:16:54.
I walked away from the finish line, feet killing me, finisher’s medal around my neck – towards a beer and a fried bologna sandwich. I was hooked.
And that’s how this journey began.
That’s me – the one w/o the sweet mustache. By the way, check out that sweet cat shirt on the dude behind my brother. I just noticed that – that made my night.
darkskyrunner 