Starting Over, Again

Over the last couple of weeks, my training has really suffered. I have
only myself to blame, of course, as I either train too hard too
quickly or talk myself out of even a simple workout. "Why would I want
to run for only a half hour?" I would say in one breath, and in the
next strap on my Vibrams for a 9 mile paced run with no build-up.

This is a recognized pattern with my training: I start a disciplined
campaign to "kill it", followed by "time off". It's never
"intentional", but it happens just the same. Take January for example:
166 miles run! I took on the 2015 in 2015 challenge, and I was doing
pretty well with the average 5.6 miles per day. Then comes February,
where my discipline flags and my mileage dropped off precipitously.

Determined to "start again", I made the aforementioned mistake and ran
a "barefoot" 9-10 miler coming off a two week break. I felt great and
had a lot of fun on the trail. The following day, my legs were
trashed, weak. Tuesday was a sore day, but Wednesday I walked around
favoring my calves heavily, and the inside of my right knee needed to
be iced for two nights. It wasn't until Friday that I started to feel
normal again.

So, I'm going to start over, again. Hopefully, these 40 years of age
will afford me some sort of wisdom in the approach. The July Voyager
50 will arrive quickly enough; there's no reason to kill myself so
early in the season. I get up early enough in the day that I can
afford to run or workout before work. Let's see if I can simply get
back into the practice of daily running.

Run Report: Doughnut Day 25k Fun Run!

It was a brisk morning start, but I couldn't wait for the promise of freshly made doughnuts at the local South Minneapolis Bakeries! Three courses were available for the day: 5 miles, 10 miles, and 17+ miles! Of course, I jumped into the 17 miler group!

Shortly after arriving, I saw a number of familiar and friendly faces! Scott Deyo and Amanda H were there, along with Jordon (of course), and Ed and Alecia Sandor. John Taylor was looking strong and ready for his Tescobia 75 coming up in June. Everyone looked hungry and COLD! I understand it was a lot warmer than last year, but the 17F starting temperature was a challenge. Everyone hopped from foot to foot to keep warm, and River Moon Coffee supplied us with the morning jo! With four hours of parking fees paid (a bit optimistic, it turns out), and a cow bell clipped to my backpack, we were off!

The first doughnut shop we visited was "The Baker's Wife" where I had an AMAZING cherry cheesecake danish, which I split with Jordan due to its enormous size! Scott and I split off and headed to our second shop, "Bogart's Doughnut Co." I had the butter-cream filled raised doughnut, which had some very nice favor - though I threw much of it away due to its size. The sun started to warm me up in my all-black get-up (take note, winter runners... black + sun = comfort).

By now, the cow bell was getting a bit annoying, so I silenced the clapper with a rubberband. While monkeying around with things, I dropped my phone and cracked the screen (1st time ever!). Again, Scott and I broke off and headed off to run the East side of Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles to find ourselves at "Isle Bun and Coffee" in Uptown.

This place happened to be my old stomping grounds from 2000 to 2001. I would routinely stop by this coffee shop for a puppy dog tail (basically a smaller, skinny cinnamon roll) and a coffee while waiting for the bus to work. Being there brought back all of the memories of my Uptown life, and the puppy dog tail was amazing!

Ed Sandor is an animal, by the way. Not only did he come out to run with us, but he dragged a tire the entire way after doing an 8 mile warm-up before we arrived at Lake Nokomis! He would show up consistently as Scott and I were departing for the next shop; he was never far behind! Jordon ran in that group, so it was fun to be able to talk to him multiple times throughout the run.

The next shop we visited with Glam Doll Donuts (they don't all spell the word the same way...). I was most impressed with this shop with the variety and creativity of their doughnut selection. It was hard to chose! I settled upon a cake doughnut with peanut topping and candied maple bacon. Scott and I drank espresso shots and relaxed while Ed and Alecia, Jordon, and a few other runners gathered around and relaxed. I wish EVERY race was like this! :)

After Glam Doll, we hopped on the parkway all the way to the Mississippi River parkway, headed South until Minnehaha Parkway, and headed over to Mel-O-Glaze Doughnuts. I skipped the immediate stop so I could pick up my car (and avoid a ticket). Scott did likewise, and we met back over at the doughnut shop to look at their selection. At noon, it was pretty picked over, but I bought three Angry Bird cookies for the kids, a cherry fritter (yum), and a lemon poppyseed coffee-cake like pastry. I forgot the name, but Scott could tell me.

Carrie and Alecia S came into the shop looking cold and tired, happy to have most of the running done. It was now 12:20, time to head home with my booty!

Thank you, Jordon, for organizing such a fun event! Thank you, Scott, for sticking with me and keeping me going, especially during that long stretch between Glam Doll and Mel-O-Glaze! And thank you, Meghan (my wife), for suffering through my "running addiction".

• Jordon's Blog: http://jordanhanlon.com/donut-day-25k/course-information-2013/ 
• Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/149781301790951/522563627846048/
• Daily Mile Entry: http://www.dailymile.com/people/ChadW/entries/31253053

And now some photos...

Drinking Espresso the right way!

Mid-bite!

"Don't take a picture of me without my hat!"

Wild hair!

A smile from Carrie (or is it Karrie?)!

The Sandors

Kissing a Whale

Run Club provided aid! You rock, guys!

5 miles from the finish, time for a snack!

Race Report: 2014 Superior 50 Mile Ultramarathon

This blog post is a reformatted version of my original race plan, which I have blocked out in grey and italics. Enjoy!

This marathon will mark the culmination of a Spring and Summer season's training for me, with no races to speak of. This is all well and good, since it was a very busy year in general. We moved from Saint Paul to Woodbury in March, ending a different type of marathon: two years of house improvements, repairs, and cleaning.
 
July 28, 2014 marked the last day I had to carry the on-call mantle at work, severing my dedicated, laptop umbilical cord. My title and job responsibilities changed at the beginning of the year as a DevOps Engineer, and the transition was finally complete. For 80% of my technological career starting in 1997, I had carried a pager. This moment was a long time coming, which isn't to say I'll never carry a "pager" again. Let's just hope it will be a long time coming - if ever.

Accommodations: Mountain Inn This year, rather than drop a wad of cash on luxury accommodations at Caribou Lodge, a few runners and I have chipped in for a room at Mountain Inn, a hop, skip, and jump away from finish line. Thankfully, it was a very reasonable rate, and split 4-ways, economical.

Address

360 Ski Hill Rd, Lutsen, MN 55612

Phone

(218) 663-7084

Roommates

Andy Littler, Christopher, Luke

Such a nice little hotel! I obviously didn't spend much time here, most of it being on the trail, but it was close to the finish line (walking distance) and split four ways for two nights, it was quite affordable: $82 each person. The staff was courteous and helpful, the sheets and towels were clean, and the room tidy. Five stars!

My Gear:Although I've run with Vibram Treks along Moose Mountain in the past, I'm not convinced my feet would hold up for twice the distance without some sort of cushion. In the very least, I'll put my Brooks Pure Grit 2's in the drop-bag at Cramer.
I'll wear a lightweight doublet or t-shirt, racing shorts, visor, pack, and headlamp. Doused with bug spray and 50 SPF, I should be good to go.

Bib Number

470

Assignments

http://fall.superiortrailrace.com/2014-number-assignments

Fuel: I plan on dealing with Gu packets for most of the race, though I plan to eat "real food" as much as possible along the way. I tend to get really hungry at the 6 hour mark, and sugar products just won't cut it.
The Pack: This year, I've purchased a Ultraspire Surge pack, containing a 2 liter bladder and a few storage spaces perfect for food, gels, salt, etc. I'm looking forward to not having a bouncing waist belt or water bottles in hand. The only thing that is not great about the setup is filling the bladder; it is time-consuming. Given that I'm not planning on setting land-speed records, I'll benefit in rest from an extra minute or two. The pack will contain:

• S-Cap Salt Tablets (4 per hour between aid stations - just in case)
• Gu Bottle (filled from bulk) or packets
• Bandana/Buff
• Toilet paper in a ziplock bag
• Lightweight Rain poncho (if rain is predicted and I can find something I like)
• Headlamp (to start out with)
• Empty water bottle for backpack, in case the bladder has issues

Drop Bags: For the most part, my drop bags will consist of restocking my pack with my starting supplies. Additionally, at each stop, I'll leave a clean and dry pair of socks.

With Clem George and Cristy De La Cruz crewing for me, I didn't have as much need for drop-bags. What you see in the plan below became much simpler, since I could hand a bag to the intrepid duo and have them dig for stuff when needed. I did not carry an extra bottle with me, and in fact, felt the emergency blanket and trash bag (folded) were a bit much. I stuck my phone in a waterproof container and had it in my pack the whole race, but I never did anything with it. It only added weight and inconvenience. I might like to run with a small, waterproof, digital camera and a cheap mp3 player next time. Also a small field notebook (weather-resistant) with a Fisher Space Pen (pressurized ink) would be useful.

The Race Plan: Let's be honest: the plan is simply to survive. In the last week, I've taken on a left calf strain running to and from work - a nine or twelve mile hilly stretch, depending on whether I take the bus in for part of the commute. My house is 3 miles from the park-n-ride lot. The next two weeks (From [2014-08-24]), I'm hoping to heal and maintain fitness, nothing more.
My Afton State Park training runs have been around 11 to 12 minutes/mile for 15 miles, which has similar elevation profiles to Superior. If I can maintain a 14:00 minute/mile pace, it'll give me two minutes per mile leeway for an understandably tougher course, and give me time, to finish the later sections under cut-offs. Barring tendinitis or other injury.
Start: Finland Rec Center Here begins the pain for the 50 milers, at Finland Rec Center. This section is described as longer and having a relatively level hiking profile. I have never run this section before, so my expectations are based on what I've found in "Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail", 2001 edition and the elevation charts from the race website. There appears to be a good 350' ascent to Egge lake, a sharp valley, and then a gradual descent to the next aid station.
The real challenge for me here is to keep my pace on target rather than going out too fast.

Next Aid Station

Sonju Lake Rd

Distance

7.5 miles

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
13:00	1 hr 37 min
14:00	1 hr 45 min	07:15
15:00	1 hr 52 min

The bus ride in, I sat with Rachel Wellman, whom I believe I know from Dailymile.com. It didn't hit me at the time, but since reviewing her profile, I'm now convinced. She was sweet and quiet, excited to start. There was a lot of energy at the Finland Rec center, and plenty of space for everyone to get ready for the upcoming race.
I ran into Jon Matthiae and had a brief visit. There was also a man from the Ely area with blue eyes and an outstanding moustache! I don't recall his name, though. His face was memorable, similar to my Uncle Greg.
J ohn Storkamp recognized me and said, "Hi!" before going about his race director business. As tired as he likely was, he was all smiles and energy. I drank a 16 oz bottle of water over the 40 minute wait, applied sun block and bug spray, and made my way out to the start line.
John held a briefing on the road, and if you've heard one from John before, you'll be grinning already. His mixes a bit of humor with each speech, and it never gets old. It didn't take long before we were off, torches blazing ahead, cantering down the road to the trail.

Time Departed

05:30

Sonju Lake Road (No Crew) This is another section I have no experience with. There appear to be a good drop of 350' overall to the Manitou River followed by a nice 400' ascent to Horseshoe Ridge. From there, it plunges down 500' to the Crosby Manitou aid station.

Total Distance

7.5 miles

Next Aid Station

Crosby Manitou

Distance

4.2 miles

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
13:00	54 min
14:00	59 min	08:14
15:00	1 hr 3 min

So early in the race, I was still very excited to be on the trail. This section went without a hitch, and Andy and I stuck together pretty well. Somewhere along this stretch, we came upon a runner I had met last year while soaking in the hot tub at Caribou Lodge: Matt Mitchell. (He recalls an earlier meeting at my Moose Mountain Marathon run in 2012.) His wife was seven months pregnant and crewing for him with his parents. We talked about his life as a teacher, his adventure to Germany with his students this last year, the reason for his not having enough time to train for this race. I was glad for the company, and I related to the note on training.
We arrived at the aid station and didn't spend much time there before heading on. I was pretty happy with my pace prediction and was feeling pretty confident. I had only taken one salt tablet during this section, since it was early in the race. I don't recall drinking much, and I didn't top off my water bladder. I doubt it took us five minutes to leave the station.

Time Arrived

07:15

How I Felt

Pretty good. Fresh.

Time Departed

07:18

Crosby Manitou I should be starting this section at the Crosby Manitou State Park about three hours into the race, still short of my approximate long distance training runs at Afton, where I generally run 11-12 minute miles. At 14:00 minute miles, I hope to hold off the inevitable stiffness and soreness later on.
There appears to be _only_ about 650' of elevation change on this section by estimating on the graph: a little over 200' descent to the river, a climb of 150', a drop of 100', and a final climb of 200'.

Total Distance

11.7 miles

Next Aid Station

Sugar Loaf

Distance

9.4 miles

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
13:00	2 hr
14:00	2 hr 12 min	10:36
15:00	2 hr 21 min

Andy had been complaining about hot-spots on his feet, having had to run with his work socks instead of his preferred pair. We were supposed to meet up with Clem and Cristy, but they were held up in traffic and construction. I'm pretty sure we were still were running on pace, but three hours in to the run, we were starting to feel it.
My estimates on elevation change from the graphs were off, of course. I didn't count all the micro hills, the little ups and downs of the course, and by this point, I was cursing the mud. It was still pretty early in the race, and I was still feeling pretty solid.
I talked a little bit with Matthew Patten, asking about Adam Schwartz-Lowe, learning that he had won the event earlier that morning! Amazing! The girls in the aid station were dancing and playing music, so I danced along with them while I waited for Andy.

Time Arrived

8:15

How I Felt

OK. Glad to be at the Aid Station.

Time Departed

8:20

Sugar Loaf This is the last aid station of the race before the Marathon runners join us on the trail. This is another section I'm not familiar with, and it holds at least 750' of elevation change; three ascents and two descents. I'm not sure if I'll be holding on to a 14:00 minute mile at this point or not.
My drop bag here will consist of:

• Brooks Pure Grit Shoes
• Gu
• S-Caps
• Injinji Socks
• Blister Kit
• Toilet paper
• Baby wipes
• Dry shirt
• Sunblock
• Bug spray
• Towel
• Hand-held Water Bottles (in case the bladder develops a fault)
• Clif Bars

Total Distance

21.1 miles

Next Aid Station

Cramer Road

Distance

5.6 miles

Cut-off Time

11:45

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
13:00	1 hr 13 min
14:00	1 hr 19 min	11:55
15:00	1 hr 24 min

This section hurt us, the 14:00 minute/mile pace was most certainly not held. I didn't write down the time I arrived at this station, but if I recall correctly, I had lost a good 12 minutes or so, but that was acceptable to me. Some was to the time in the aid station, certainly.
Andy hit a wall here, and I had to leave him behind. My legs were still fresh enough to press on, and when the opportunity to run came, I had to take it. I felt bad leaving him behind, but we each come to Superior with the knowledge that not all of us are going to make it.
Cristy and Clem took good care of me here, bringing out the pickles! Oh, lovely dill pickles! According to her Facebook post, Cristy estimated that we met up at 10:48. I know I spent a good 5 minutes in the chair, so let's estimate my departure at 10:55; still an hour ahead of cut-off.
Luke, our roommate, was also waiting for Andy. We left a pair of socks with him for when Andy came through. I was certain he'd make cut-off here, but not sure how the rest of the race would do for him.

Time Arrived

10:48

How I Felt

Ugly

Time Departed

10:55

Cramer Road The halfway point! Unfortunately for me, this will mark the furthest I've run in one setting all year. The marathoners will have started a good four hours prior to when I reach this point, so it is unlikely I'll see many of them before I finish the race. If I can get out of this aid station and avoid injury, I'll likely finish the race.
This section is the flattest of the entire race, with good run-able stretches. If all is going to plan, I'll have a good 1:40 slush time, and this section should be a good recovery.

Total Distance

26.7 miles

Next Aid Station

Temperance River

Distance

7.1 miles

Cut-off Time

13:40

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
13:00	1 hr 32 min
14:00	1 hr 39 min
15:00	1 hr 46 min	13:41
16:00	1 hr 57 min

The trail to Cramer was lonely for a while. I enjoyed those times, as I was able to pace myself rather than compare how I was doing to other runners. I sped up when I felt good and slowed down when things were a little rough. I did end up falling into a group of runners, as you always do in these events. At times, that is exactly what you do need to keep going. Without the deadline or the race atmosphere, I would likely bow out a lot sooner.
I don't recall if this happened along the way to Cramer or the way to Sugar Loaf... That being said, somewhere along the way, I tucked in behind another group of runners and met Cheri Dostal Ryba. I don't recall exactly what we talked about, but I know Nora's broken leg came up and recalling how lucky I was to have such an understanding wife. I vowed then to buy flowers for her and take her out on a date to say, "Thank You!"
When I finally arrived at Cramer, Cristy was concerned that I hadn't taken all of my S-Caps. Clem fed me potatos, bananas, and maybe pancakes. I shared the pickles with Cheri. "Awesome, right?" I asked. She took a moment before answering in the affirmative.
I was still up-beat when leaving the aid station. Time to hit Temperance.

Time Arrived

12:40

How I Felt

Pretty low. Tired.

Time Departed

12:49

Temperance River (No Crew) This section contains the largest amount of elevation change I'll see at once. The dive to the river is almost complete here, but then we go straight up Carlton Peak. It is a challenge to say the least, but I know it'll be a hiking section - no running at all.

Total Distance

33.8 miles

Next Aid Station

Sawbill - Britton

Distance

5.7 miles

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
16:00	1 hr 31 min
17:00	1 hr 37 min
18:00	1 hr 43 min	15:24

Although my run to Temperance started out well enough, I quickly started to lose steam.
I happened upon Matt Mitchell in this section again, and we quickly fell into conversation. His ITB was acting up horribly, and our trail brotherhood solidified in mutual pain as we slogged down the Cross River gorge, a part of the trail I had very much forgotten about. "Flat" indeed! This turned out to be the worst section for me. The mud was just as bad as Sugar Loaf to Cramer, and now the downhill was tweaking my iliotibial bands on both legs consistently. We both talked of dropping, but Matt made a pact with me, his idea. We would push through to Temperance and see where we stood with time before the cutoffs. If we were still good, we'd continue. Since there was no crew allowed for us at Temperance, the most convenient place to pull out of the race would be Sawbill. I agreed. I could suffer through Sawbill, and by pushing forward I hadn't given up.

Time Arrived

14:20-14:40

How I Felt

This was my lowest of lows

Time Departed

Unsure 14:50?

Sawbill - Britton This next section has a number of "pointless up's and down's", and it's draining to complete. My strategy here will be simply to jog the flats and downhills and walk the uphills. Eventually, I'll pass through this hell on to the biggest challenge of the day. I'm choosing to have a drop bag here rather than at Oberg, since sunset will happen at 19:20 or so; the woods will start to get dark around 18:30. If things go really south and I barely meet the cut-off, I'll nee that headlamp.
My drop bag here will consist of

• Gu
• S-Caps
• Injinji Socks
• Blister Kit
• Dry shirt
• Headlamp

Total Distance

39.5 miles

Next Aid Station

Oberg Mountain

Distance

5.5 miles

Cut-off Time

17:30

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
14:00	1 hr 20 min
15:00	1 hr 24 min
16:00	1 hr 28 min	16:52

Somehow, my pain plateaued along this section. Had it been more like our descent in to the Cross River valley, the trail would likely have defeated me here. Somehow, we found reprieve in a beautiful section of trail devoid of roots and rocks. Matt was still having issues with his ITB, and although I was still sore, I needed to get moving.
I concentrated on picking up my heels and letting gravity pull me forward, and with the more fluid movement, my pain subsided to a bearable level. When I could, I pushed the pace along the trail. After crossing the river bridge, I was pleased to find much of the same on the ascent back up the river. It was there I ran into a trio of 50 milers. They were college friends all running together as a reunion of sorts. One runner, Mark introduced himself to me for the second time -- apparently, I had talked with them earlier on in the race. Eventually, one of the runners had horrible calf issues and all three stopped for a break. I pressed on ahead, taking advantage of the relatively flat and object free trail.
I made great time to Carlton Peak, and on my ascent, I was careful not stress my quads into cramps; they were right on the edge of failing at times. I vowed to take ever tree stump and log crossing sitting down, avoiding the cramp issue that kept me from my six hour marathon in 2012.
There was a group of teen-aged kids on one part of the peak, but I never really ran into them. I did run into a hiker.
"Long day." I stated. He smiled and replied, "And now you're mountain goating it!" Indeed! The run to Britton was only a mile or so past Carlton, and I kept a close eye on my watch. I was truckin!
I felt pretty good getting into Britton. Yes, I was sore and tired, but past my low-point. I felt ashamed for my talk of dropping along Cross River and Temperance.
Cristy and Clem did a stellar job feeding me and prepping me for the last stretch!

Time Arrived

16:35

How I Felt

Awesome! Sore, but encouraged!

Time Departed

16:53

Oberg Mountain This stretch has always been rough for me. In the last two races, I doubt I've completed this faster than a 16 minute mile. There are two very sizable ascents and descents across Moose and Mystery Mountains.

Total Distance

45 miles

Next Aid Station

Oberg Mountain

Distance

7.1 miles

Cut-off Time

19:00

Pace	Duration	ETA Next Station
16:00	1 hr 53 min
17:00	2 hr
18:00	2 hr 8 min	19:00

So much mud! Not much runnable here, but I did the best I could. I don't remember much about this section, though I recall meeting up with one of the 100 miler female runners. Short hair, tired. She sat a bench, and I sat with her. The world spun! Was it the wind blowing in the trees, making the leaves move like the sea? I had to get going; I couldn't sit any longer. I briefed her in that she had another mile and a half or so, to which she was pretty distraught, convinced she wouldn't make it. I encouraged her as I left and don't know what ever happened to her afterwards.
The rest of the way in to Oberg was pretty nice, consisting of boardwalks and some runnable stretches. Of course there was mud; it was everywhere. Saw signs for the Oberg parking log. Ran in with a bunch of runners, Deb and Liz being part of it. There was another young man I kept running into as well. Another Mark? We leapfrogged for much of the race since Cross River.
Getting in to Oberg was exciting! There was a lot of positive energy at the TCRC truck, and Clem and Cristy were on point! I was happy about having reached this point with almost an extra hour before the cut-off, but I was not complacent to sit. I wanted to finish as quickly as my body would allow me.

Time Arrived

18:05

How I Felt

Better!

Time Departed

18:10 to 18:20?

Caribou Lodge The finish line! I've been here twice before, so I know where it is and what it takes to get here (at least with Moose Mountain Marathon). If all is going to plan, I'll arrive some time around 19:00.

Total Distance

52.1 miles

Cut-off Time

22:00

Time Arrived

20:34:02

How I Felt

Great! I finished!

Once again, I managed to catch up with Liz and Deb Vomhof within a mile or so of leaving Oberg, and I stuck with them for the remainder of the race, leap frogging ahead at some point and dropping behind at others. The ascent up Moose Mountain wasn't as painful as I thought it might be, but going down wasn't all that much fun. My legs remembered the pounding they took at Cross River, and I hoped to hold off the inevitable blow-out.
I also ran in to Joe Weise! Doing a 100! A few years back, I met Joe at one of the Spring races along this very trail. He was looking very fit and as he ran with us using a pair of poles, he filled me in on his children and life. I didn't spend much time there -- energy was coursing through my legs at the time. I do want to catch up with him more one of these days, though!
As we came off Moose Mountain we met John, the 58 year old 100 miler who ran with a single pole and slouched severly to one side. He had a unique shuffle run, but he seemed completely unhurried in a confident "I'll get there" attitude. He'd only been running for three years, but decided one day he needed to do 100's. His redoubtable manner gave me encouragement, and I forgot my pain for a while.
Liz was having a hard time on the backside of Moose, and chose to take off into a run. She faced the the same dilemma we all did: go down slowly and painfully, or go down quickly, still in pain, but with less time on you feet. It was a good decision. I eventually made the same choice, and struck out away from the group.
With the switchbacks, it wasn't long before Deb and Rollie Everson caught back up to me. We tucked in behind a 100 miler, who was running strong in this last section with his pacer. Deb's light failed on the backside of Mystery, and mine was beginning to fail as well. Rather than push out ahead, I stuck with the group to rely upon Rollie's light should mine decide to give up the ghost; I had no spare battieries.
Once we hit the road, the 100 miler broke out into a quick pace. I stuck with him, with Rollie close behind. We all were reflecting the energy of the finish line. Cowbells and cheering pulled us in quicker, and the floodgates of emotion let loose: gratitude, happiness, relief. It all culminated in a huge grin, tears, and hugs!
Cristy and Clem were there at the finish-line, first to receive hugs, followed by Andy, who informed me that he dropped somewhere around mile 40. He had a stupendous effort and looked quite clean and refreshed. I was exhausted, on the other hand, and needed food!
We hobbled into the dining area, where a handful of runners gathered and exchanged stories. Clem and Cristy continued to be a great crew, fetching me water and chili and talking about the race. I talked to my dad and Meghan - after fighting with my phone and the Caribou WiFi access point to get T-Mobile WiFi calling working (such a pain).
I learned from Andy that Matt had made it in, completing the race in 15:38, only 35 minutes behind me! Awesome! I didn't see him come in to the dining area, though I understand his family brought him pizza!
Cheri was there, having arrived a half-hour before me (awesome!). Steve Tollerud was there again, having completed the marathon earlier! Really, I wish I could recall everyone I talked to, but I was so tired and glad to be done. I lamented not being able to watch more runners come in, but by the time I felt good enough to walk back out on to the patio, it was well after 22:00, the race cut-off.

Results

I finished! The race results page has a slight calculation error in that it lists this race as only 50 miles, computing my pace as 18:05 min/mile! It's a 52.1 mile race!

Start

5:30:16AM

Finish

8:34:02PM

Time

15:03:47

Pace

17:20 min/mile

I also found this interesting link of my race results on Ultra Sign-up.

Thanks to...

I I wanted to take a moment to thank a number of people. First and foremost, my wife Meghan. For with out her support, none of this would be possible. My daughter had broken her leg on the trampoline the Tuesday before the race, yet Meghan told me to run the race anyway. I love you, Sweetie!
I also want to thank Clem and Cristy, who were complete rock stars at the race! I never had to worry about whether or not I'd have what I needed when I left the aid stations. They were encouraging, supportive, and caring. What more could you want in a race crew! (And Clem makes an awesome camp roasted, dutch oven chicken!)
Thanks to the 180 volunteers who help make the race possible! Indeed there may be other 100 mile, 50 mile, and marathon trail races out there, but few stack up to the dedication, professionalism, and sheer quality that the Superior trail races achieve. Had Clem and Cristy not been there, I know that success was still possible for me with the support of all the awesome aid station volunteers.
Of course, thanks to John Storekamp and his family, for dedicating so much of himself to the success of this race. Rock Steady Racing puts on some outstanding races, ones I will always recommend to friends looking for a challenge!

A Race is on the Calendar! Finally!

It was high time I did something for my motivation to get out and run. As you can see by my training chart, there has been very little of that as of late:

Next on the race schedule, Superior Fall Races - 50 Miler! Without big challenges, there will be no big improvements. I've been feeling down in the dumps lately, despite things going well for me and my family, and I couldn't put a finger on why. Maybe this is the boost I need to get out of the slump!

I haven't scheduled any races between now and then, though it might make sense to do so. Race-specific training will be my focus, with hills being the front and center. In case you haven't seen the elevation chart for the race...

(Copied from http://fall.superiortrailrace.com/)

I'll be logging a lot of time on these:

The Dread-Climber

HILLS! (Looking down Carlton Peak - 2011)

The Hardest 6 Mile Commute Run Ever

Just wanted to share some pics to accompany my run this morning. What a rough one, but fun as hell!

What Happened to Running?!

After being #MrMom for five days, crabby sick children, catching a
cold myself, a flu shot, and ridiculous on-call nights, I've finally
recovered enough to run a bit today. It wasn't much, but it ended the
week long goose egg for mileage. It is so frustrating to lose that
momentum, but I know I benefited from the streak. I'm not bitter; not
really.

If I can scrounge up the kit, I plan on running to work tomorrow. Time
go get back on the 35 mile per week train and kick this plan in
gear. I've got Icebox 480 coming up in November, which gives me a
solid six weeks of training, with one week for a "taper". Surf the
Murph 50k on the 26th would be another nice way to end the season, and
the 50 miler would challenge me even further.

Experience on the trail this Fall would prepare me for Savage 100, my
best first chance I'd have at completing a 100 miler before July
12th. Held in May, the race has approximately 4,000 feet of elevation
change per 16.8 mile loop, equating to 24,000 feet of total elevation
change for the race. Yeoch!  The thing that killed me most on SHT was
the elevation change. Moose and Mystery Mountains ground my quads into
hamberger; bad times. Best to get going on Meghan's treadclimber over
the winter months!

So, which to race? The 50K or the 50 miler...

Run Streak Challenges and Pay-offs

I'm now going on my 37th day of my #runstreak, but I haven't yet picked out my workout. We have a house showing again today (no offers yet), so things have to look spiffy; no running this afternoon. Nora was squawking at 06:30 this morning, but she let me sleep in until 07:40 or so; I appreciated it.

As of yet, I'm still living like a night-owl. Most ultra-runners and long-distance runners seem to get their feet moving in the early morning light of dawn or pre-dawn. I just cannot seem to buy into it, valuing my "quiet time" after the children are asleep to watch television, sit on the computer, what-have-you. Yes, I realize that if I went to bed when Nora went to bed, I could get up and run before anyone wakes, but I never manage to follow through.

The runstreak has forced me to be consistent with training, however. Its is quite obvious with a rule like "run one mile every day" that consistency would be the outcome. The graph above is taken from my training log on DailyMile.com, and the trend is quite apparent; my training is right where it needs to be during the beginning phases of any program. With an average of five miles each day, or 50 minutes of running at a 10 minute mile, I'm looking at close to six hours of training. What is missing in this equation are generally my long runs. I haven't pulled out an LSDs beyond a ten miler in weeks.

In truth, what's missing is a coherent plan. I have some back-of-the-envelope calculations and general assumptions about races landing somewhere in October, November, April, June, and if I must, July, but races aren't my focus; distance is. Over the course of this weekend, I plan on spending time with Daniels' Running Formula, a spreadsheet, and a calendar. With consistency in my pocket now, it's a matter of defining how the next months will play out.

Product Review: Princeton Tech Vizz

I've been looking for a good headlamp recently, one with a bit more power than those you find at Menards. 100 Lumens minimum with at least a 48 hour run time, even on the brightest setting. Connor, Ryan, Nora and I stopped in at REI a few nights ago to do just that. I didn't spend too much time mulling over my decision, since the store was closing within 15 minutes of us arriving there. Petzel lamps were there, as were others, but I settled upon the Princeton Tech Vizz headlamp. It had the right price point at $49.99USD, the correct brightness of 150 Lumens, and 110 to 150 hours of run-time, or burn-time as their site refers.

Princeton Tech Vizz (copied without permission)

The lamp is controlled by a single button on the top of the housing. A single click turns the pair of red LEDs on. A double-click turns on the narrow, bright beam. A long-press of the button turns on the dimmable pair of white LEDs. Three quick clicks from off will lock the lamp in off-mode to prevent battery drain.

I've now had two occasions to run with the lamp, as I execute my late night #runstreak strategy of crossing the midnight hour to qualify two days in one run. The lamp is exceptionally bright and easy to operate. The one thing I noticed right away is that the lamp tended to bounce as I ran, which I was quite surprised about at first. However, after short examination, the reason was quite obvious. Three triple A batteries in the housing makes it a bit front-heavy. Although the hinge to the mounting bracket seems to take the bouncing without moving (something that may change with age), the whole unit moves up and down on my head while running. To combat this, I tightened the strap. Finding a happy medium between comfort and smooth operation was a challenge.

Now I understood why some runners seem to prefer lamps that use a third strap over the top of your head and house the battery pack at the back. Lighting the trail is a much smoother experience by isolating the bouncing away from the actual lamp. Going from my Rayovac Sportsman, which has this type of strapping and battery housing strategy, to the PTECH VIZZ is a distracting, albeit much brighter experience.

For me, the PTECH VIZZ gets a 3.5 out of 5 Stars. The bouncing is pretty distracting to me, but everything else is spot on.

Reaching for the Jack Daniels

With as sore as I feel, my 17th day #runstreak turned out to be stellar! Although I don't have any concrete plans as to how far I should be running (other than 1 mile per day) or how fast, I still have some inkling as to where I would like to be. 30+ miles per week seems like a nice round number, as did the 10 miles I ran today. I know it's not a big number for Long Slow Distance, but it's where my body is letting me be right now.

If you've read this blog, you know that a while back, I purchased the Daniels' Running Formula a while back. I really like the book and think it has some sound training principles. Identify your current fitness level and train to reach the next one. Train for time on feet rather than distance. Include at least two quality workouts a week, with easy running in-between. Build up your distance gradually. These are all horribly paraphrased from what I took away from the book, so don't quote me specifically. If you're a rabid do-it-yourself'er, this is definitely one for the bookshelf.

The title I chose for this blog post is accredited to my desire for a more structured program. A runstreak takes away the guesswork as to whether or not you're running for the day, but it doesn't really give much more than that. I've been loosely trying to get at least three one-hour runs in per week, with half-hour runs in-between, and a long run on the weekend. Using the long run over the midnight hour trick, I've been able to squeeze in some "rest days" despite running each day.

I'm sore. My muscles ache. My tendons are strained. I've been switching between shoes and barefoot, especially when my feet feel pounded. I was dreaming of an ice bath tonight, so things must be bad. Last time I tried one, I couldn't keep my legs submerged for two minutes. I could go buy a couple bags of ice and sit in the tub, but that brings up the next factoid: I'm tired. I just want to crawl into bed and not get up until mid-afternoon. It won't happen, of course, but at last I'll get eight hours tonight.

Most of the Daniels' programs have a 7-day running program per week, so it covers the #runstreak. Additionally, most days include at least one hour of running. I'm working up to it, reaching for it. Now that I'm consistently running every day, I'm realizing the flaw in my logic about running in longer and longer races without really building up my strength and endurance appropriately. Sure, I complete the race, but it's always at what seems like a death-march pace. I go out strong-ish but basically crawl to the finish. For my first 50 miler, I want not only to complete it but also do so with some gas left, as if I know what I'm doing. I don't of course, but wouldn't that be nice? This Fall. I don't have a race picked out yet, but I'll put a fuzzy circle around mid-October to early November.

Fruit Snacks

I love fruit snacks more than my children, and not just any fruit snack. I like the generic brand from Target, their "Market Pantry". Why? I don't really know. Maybe it's because they're very much like gummy bears or gummy worms, but because they're in the "snack" isle rather than the "candy" isle, they're marginally healthier. It's a comforting thought that I tell myself after I've just opened my fourth bag in a row.

Twinkies? No, you can keep your cream-filled sponge cakes. You would not include me in the throngs of people complaining that Hostess went under. Good riddance. Twinkies just took up shelf space where better eats could be displayed. I want something with a bit more "chew" to it, more flavor. You'll find them in my fuel belt along with my gels. Shot blocks?! Meh. Is there really that much wrong with a little corn syrup and vitamin C, especially when you're already taking maltos and dextros gels? I simply can't leave behind these little baggies of goodness!

A Tricky Runstreak

Two times in one week, I've pulled the same runstreak trick: span one run over midnight to qualify as two days of running. It may seem like a cheat, but it has legitimate benefit. Think of it this way: a runstreak is running a minimum of one mile per day, every day. If you're training for anything other than a 5k run, most of your runs will be longer than one mile. We know that our bodies require rest periods to heal from the stresses we put it through, and training does this by design. A runstreak, therefore, is in direct conflict with the concept of "rest days".

By spanning a longer run over the midnight hour, I get to accomplish a couple of very important things: blow off steam, qualify two runs in one outing, I get to try out my new headlamp, and give myself at least 32 hours before I have to run again. If I had run in the morning on the day prior, there would be another 32-38 hours between runs. In the span of four days, I still run every day, but rather than having them evenly spread in 24 hour segments, I get longer rest periods in between.

To take this strategy to the extreme, consider that running every other night starting prior to midnight with sufficient time to finish at least one mile would allow almost 47 hours between runs. It still counts as a run per day, but it also gives an exceptional amount of rest between.

So, if you're getting burned out from running every single day and need some time off, consider a run that spans the midnight hour. Even one of these in a week is enough to give you a "day off" while technically qualifying as a run per day, keeping your streak alive!

Texting and Treamilling

Texting and Treadmilling

My 12th day of #runstreaking found me on the YMCA treadmill once again; twice, actually. The first time was 15 minutes prior to my youngest boy's swim class, and 35 minutes during. Connor was already in the pool for swim practice, and Nora was up in Kids' Stuff. She's really been doing well, only crying when I drop her off and when I come to pick her up. My voice gives it away. I need to remember to whisper when I show up so she doesn't start to cry immediately.

While I was running, there was no real disconnection from the world around me. Texts rolled in for on-call service events -- luckily, for things that generally clear on their own -- and escalations from clients. It was client need that prompted me to cut the run short at 50 minutes instead of 60, pack up the kids, and head home early. I wasn't planning on leaving the Y until at least 20:30, but we were out the door by 19:45. Fun times!

Oh yeah, something weird happened today during my first 15 minute run. The arch on my right foot felt as if it was pushing against the shoe, or perhaps the other way around. I concentrated on relaxing the muscles in my feet and calves and landing squarely mid-foot, and after a couple of minutes, the "bulge" feeling went away. The shoes were comfortable again. Weird. Here I thought the shoes had gotten to a point where I'd have to replace them. (Size 13 Brooks Pure Grit - yes, trail shoes on a treadmill.. Not quite right.)

(I slightly "cheated" on the blog post. Since most of what I want to share is about running, and I generally share this at Daily Mile, I copied my workout entry there. Technically, this is far more detail than any micro-blogging site, so I feel I've covered my bases! I could have reduced the detail on DM to save it for here, but what's the point?)

Work

Luckily, the customer escalation didn't appear to be a major problem, which makes for a restful night. Life was very busy at work today. In a Support Engineer position, everything is interrupt-driven. You may feel that you've got a handle on your "plan" for the day, but essentially it's just a loosely defined "TODO" list that you may or may not be able to complete. Custom scripting, SQL research, log diving, software release coordination all comes with the territory. It makes for a challenging and fast-paced day; never boring. I'm glad when the day is over, and I hold out hope that the "pager" stays quiet throughout the night.

All is Quiet

Except for the droning of the server fans, all is quiet in the house. Finally. Work on Monday's is generally a catch-up day, where people who didn't get their high priority tasks fulfilled are asking, "When will it be done?" There are always high priority tasks that need to be done yesterday, but you need to take it all in stride in as a Support Engineer. Set new expectations, communicate, and hopefully keep things running relatively smoothly. Sometimes the ride gets a little bumpy, but by and large, it feels good to be helpful.

That sometimes means that you get out of work late, like today, and you run behind with almost everything else. I tried to stop by Pad Thai restaurant to pick up dinner, but when I got there, I learned it was closed on Mondays. The backup plan was pizza at Red's Savoy — back to downtown Saint Paul on 7th Street. What was supposed to be dinner at 6:30 PM turned out to be dinner at 7:30 PM.

We had no groceries in the house, of course, so with all three kids, I ran errands. First stop, REI for a new headlamp - mine isn't all that bright, and the battery life is questionable. A few minutes later, I had a Princeton Tec 150 lumen headlamp (that could last up to 110 hours!), Gu gels, and a couple pair of Injinji socks. (I tried the socks on at home, and didn't really like the fit, unfortunately. They were VERY low-cut styled.)

Off to the grocery store (Target) we went. I didn't realize how much time was burnt just trying to keep Connor and Ryan under wraps. Ryan is constantly moving, and Connor just likes to push his buttons to see how long he can keep it up. At least Nora was a patient little angel... yeah right. She twisted around in her seat to grab things out of the cart and throw them about. At 10:30 PM, I was happy to call it a night. We arrived at home, fought over who would help bring in the groceries, and listened to Ryan scream and throw a fit over bugs circling the backyard light. "He's six," I have to remind myself, "and tired."

Off to bed the boys went, and soon Nora followed. The groceries put away and a cold beer in hand, we finally had time to relax and slow down. Hopefully, on-call will be a quiet night tonight. I'll probably try to wake up and fit a run in before I go to work tomorrow. I enjoyed my afternoon run today, hitting the hills of Saint Paul, but I generally like to keep that activity to the mornings. It's cooler, and generally the production issues just don't surface until mid-afternoon. It's nice making that afternoon run, since someone at work can usually cover, but it's also nice not having to ask for that help.

Let's see... Eleven days down. I still haven't formulated a real plan regarding my pre-40th birthday 100 miler, but getting in daily miles and one or two quality workouts a week is going to have to suffice for now.

8th Day Streaking!

The 8th day of my #runstreak was spent at a good clip looping from my house around Lake Como and back. It's a route I travel often, and frequently at night. I don't however, generally go out on a Friday; the traffic is awful! The two-plus miles to and from the lake are filled with stop lights and stop signs, the ever repeating grid of streets and sidewalks. Knowing this, I wore my headlamp and reflective vest to give me the maximum chance of being noticed. I'm alive, so it must have worked!

After seven days of running, my calves and Achilles are a bit sore, but surprisingly my left hip is relatively OK. The 200 yds of swim with a kickboard on Tuesday seems to have helped. A good stretch before I turn in for the night should help as well.

It really was a beautiful night out tonight, especially coming off a long stretch of hot and humid weather. Kevin Smith read JLA #13 and #14 on his podcast, "Fatman on Batman." I'm going to have to go out and buy JLA #15 now!

I find that three hours is not enough time from your last meal to wait before strapping on your shoes and running. I had heartburn from ten minutes onward. Not a great way to spend your time on the road. I managed through it and rewarded myself with a plain yogurt, fresh mango, chocolate chip, and shredded coconut "sunday" when I finished the run. Yum!

And for those counting, this is indeed my 8th blog post in 8 days! Streak on! (For some reason, I'm craving a steak.)

Loss of Energy - Eat Better!

It happened again! I was too busy to eat properly, resulting in a loss of energy; my performance suffered. A mere five miles today felt like twice that. It didn't help that the "air-conditioned" environment at the YMCA fitness center did little to keep me cool. At the 30 minute mark, I took a five minute break to cool down and to fight back the dizziness that was creeping up on me.

Tonight's meal? A Wendy's Double Pretzel Bacon burger with fries and a drink. Assessment: not all that wonderful. The pretzel bun is a bit too chewy for my preference, and the whole thing was a bit greasy. Some days I go for it, but not today. I'm satiated, but exhausted; I may just crawl into bed now rather than wait until midnight or one! (YAY!) First, time to spend some time with Meghan in our now quiet home.

Breaking News! My son Ryan has just lost another tooth. That's four teeth in four weeks, three in the last two weeks! The tooth-fairy is strapped for cash these days due to inflation: $2 per tooth! Ryan's raked in $8 and has spent it on chips and Nintendo games.

Get it out of the Way

Not much time for a blog post today, since time seems to have a mind of its own. A lesson difficult to learn, no doubt, is that if something is important enough to do each day, it wise to complete it early. Tasks, interruptions, and tangents will drain whatever reserve you think you have to quickly. Although this post is after midnight,  I'll still count it as part of the streak.

To keep the runstreak going, I snuck it in between work and Gaming tonight. It was hot and muggy, but nice to get out non-the-less.

She's Walking! Almost!

My little baby girl, Nora, is starting to walk! Last night, Meghan and I encouraged her to walk between us, and wouldn't you know it, she did excellent! She's been standing on her own for some time now and walking along the furniture. She hadn't yet walked to get from point to point. With our help, at almost 13 months of age, I counted nine steps of a good, solid, balanced effort!

Today, I did more of the same, just to see if last night was a fluke, but she walked without hesitation to me. My heart swelled up with pride. This afternoon, while we celebrated my 39th birthday in Big Lake with my parents, and she blew kisses to everyone. It's moments like these that makes being a father so fun!

We did have quite a bit of fun at the lake today. The boys swam with their cousin Ben, and I threw Ryan into the air a few times. Nora was getting a little too brave for my comfort, and Ryan gave me a scare in the inner-tube. Everyone walked away unscathed and with my thanks to Ryan's swim teachers at the YMCA.

I'd write more about it, but I need to get to bed soon. I did manage to get a run in around 1930CDT: a loop around Lake Como from my house. I changed the route a little, and the direction of travel, just to mix it up. I'm starting to feel the stress of running every day with sore calves, shins, and hips, so I plan on a short 1-3 miler tomorrow, easy pace. The foam roller did its job tonight, and hopefully tomorrow I won't feel like a truck hit me in the side.

A Showing, a Movie, and a Loop

Saturday is generally a day for household chores, family events, or
just plain laziness. Meghan let me sleep in until nine or so, getting
up with Nora at 0730CDT, which covered my laziness for the day. After
that, it was a constant "Go" mode. We all needed to be out of the
house at 11:00 for a 11:15 showing. I took care of the kids and
straightening up the upstairs while Meghan took a short break - well
deserved - and took care of some last minute details.

We packed everyone, including our dog Peter, into the van and took a
short trip to McDonald's for breakfast, then sat in the van parked
half-a-block from the house to wait. Showings generally take 10-20
minutes, and Nora was having her nap postponed for the event. We
wanted to get back into the house and get her to bed as soon as the
visitors left.

When we did get back into the house, it was "quiet time" for Nora, so
I packed up the boys and we watched "Despicable Me 2". It was a
surprisingly good movie, and the boys enjoyed it thoroughly. For some
reason, I was exhausted after the movie and took a cat-nap on the
couch. It was short-lived, at best, and I soon needed to get up and
cook dinner. I made an old favorite, a tomato soup meat sauce and wide
egg noodles; simple but delicious. Nora enjoyed it, but was
over-exhausted and promptly brought upstairs for a nap.

After the boys were settled in and getting ready to go to bed, I threw
on my KSOs and ran an easy loop of Lake Como from my house
(approximately 7 miles in about an hour). I played around with some
FOSS software on my Android phone for the run: GPSLogger and
Pedometer, both available from the FDroid market app. GPSLogger has a
very simple controller display, with no visual map or charts to speak
of. I like it in that it seems to save battery over MyTracks and other
run logging applications. I still need to download and view the GPX
track, so it'll be interesting to find out how accurate it is and how
best to tune its settings for my use case.

Pedometer didn't work at all. Apparently the accelerometer is
unavailable when the screen is locked, and it doesn't appear to be
override-able. This brings up a beef I have with some of the Android
settings. There are applications we need running with resources we
need access to, even when the screen is shut off. Consider trying to
be as frugal with your battery as possible, where you don't need to
watch the screen to "use" an application. This simply needs to be
improved. There was a setting in the Pedometer application to keep the
screen awake, but I was already running at 30% battery when I
started; I needed it for the GPS.

In any case, it's high time that I do a proper backup of the data on
this phone; my next chore. Like my computer, it's a part of my
life. Without the data on it, I would be lost, or at least I would
suffer a major setback. Scary, huh?

Last Year of My Dirty 30's

Here I am in the basement of my house once again, typing away on the computer in an uncomfortable folding chair made slightly more comfortable by old couch pillows. It's far from quiet due to the constant droning of fans from the old SunFire X2100 I obtained while working at Zayo Managed Services. It was a neglected machine in the hosting center, destined for the scrap heap, but it was a solid piece of engineering that begged to have Linux installed on it. Today, it hosts my website and acts as a local network host: overkill.

Its presence was appreciated when my hand-built whitebox workstation gave up the ghost, as was the Buffalo NAS. The real hero of the story was the little emachines desktop workstation named `icarus', after Connor's favorite Nintendo 3Ds game, an AMD Athlon II X2 220. With it, I was able to recover all of my personal data from `skuld'. Now that I have redundant backups in place, I'm finding the little workstation quite useful.

The basement is a familiar setting, one I haven't frequented in the last few years. I attribute this to family, laptops, and mobile devices. It's far more comfortable to sit on the couch, watch television, watch my children, and generally be around than to try to retreat to the cave. Oh what I wouldn't give for a proper office.

None of this is really relevant to the title of this post, which is "Last Year of My Dirty 30's". Let's give credit for this title where credit is due, my wife's post on Facebook. Was the last nine years of my life really all that dirty? And will the upcoming year be any worse? I'm curious to find out!

The first day of that journey began today, and with it a number of challenges I've placed upon myself. I've logged 512 miles of running so far this year, I've made a great start toward completing a 1,000 miles by December 31. To help me along the way, I have started a run streak — one mile per day, every day. Today's run was a 5K Birthday Run! My penultimate goal is to complete a 100 mile marathon before July 12th next year, but you already knew that.

My second challenge is a blog streak. You've guessed it: a blog post a day, every day. I'm not really sure I have enough material that is worthwhile to write, let alone worthwhile to read. I've given myself some loose rules to follow:

• Micro-blogging does not count, obviously.
• Provide some value to the reader, even if it is only me reading it.
• Find out what it means to approach 40.

Hopefully that means I'll be somewhat entertaining, but at least I'll be consistent.

I had a few others that didn't make the cut: a beer streak (I already like beer way too much to have another excuse to drink it), 100 push-ups (although I may do this anyway), 100 pull-ups (pull-up bar necessary), 100 sit-ups (see a trend here?), a photo a day (not really a shutter-bug - this would just be work).

With the conclusion of this sentence, the journey begins!

Race Report: 2013 Chippewa 50K

I am now officially an ultra-marathoner, having completed my first race this year at the Chippewa 50K in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin in 6:58:38! Spring 2013 has had some chaotic weather, dumping significant snow volume on the Midwest in weekly bursts followed by warm weather melts. In the sheltered, wooded space of the Chippewa Moraine State Park, the snow presented an interesting challenge for the runners. The North and East-facing slopes held on tenaciously to their drifts and ice slicks, hiding streams of ice-cold melt, while the South and West-facing slopes were alternatively dry or muddy. The conditions would make for an interesting day!
My alarm woke me at 3:45 in the morning after a restless sleep; I was too worried about waking up on-time. My pre-race meal was an oddly delicious mixture of grapefruit, plain vanilla yogurt and fruity pebbles! I threw in the cereal on a whim, but discovered it to be quite tasty! I didn't make coffee like I usually do, but I didn't really miss it. I pulled in front of Steve Quick's house at 04:50, who was raring to go and great company on the road as we made our way East to the race site. We arrived early and found a parking spot right up front. The temperature was a cool 40 with a light breeze with a promise to warm up into the low 70s!

An hour later, after picking up our race packets and fussing about what equipment to run with, we gathered with around 275 runners (unofficial guess) at the starting line for the 6th annual race briefing by co-race director Jeff Allen. Aid stations were positioned at mile 3, 10, and 15 (the turn-around), a nice and even spread. I opted to carry only one water bottle and no belt, though I would have liked to have something to carry gels and S-Caps (something to remember for the next race). Two of the northerly slopes were labeled "WALK" due to the grade of the ice covered descents, and we were informed that miles 12 through 15 were the "worst" on the course. It didn't sound promising.
No one really wanted to stand up near the front, so I lined up near the front third of the pack, contrary to what I originally planned. Given how the race played out, it might have been wiser for me to start further back. Fired up and ready to rock, the race started and we headed out onto the challenging course. Within the first mile, I slipped and drew blood on the ice and sticks; not a great start.
It was soon evident to me that my Brooks Pure Grit shoes were not cut out for ice on the hilly slopes. A lot of energy was expended to stay on my feet, but I was able to continue to push forward. The downhill snow-covered slopes were most easily traversed by "skiing" down them, but it made for wet cold feet. You couldn't be sure what your feet would find underneath the snow: ice, mud, or trail. Miles 10 to 11, however were predictably unpleasant: slushy, snow covered ice melts. There was absolutely no way to avoid it or the frozen toes. Eventually, it tapered off and dried out again.
Somewhere around mile 12 or 13, I ran into Steve, who wasn't feeling well at all. We ran together for a short period, but unfortunately, his stomach problems distracted him from running. We separated, and I didn't see him again until the turn-around. Around mile 13 or so, we entered a pine stand with more sheltered snow drifts. These hills weren't nearly as icy, but there was knee-high snow in some points. Again, the "skiing" technique worked effectively on the downhills, and the duck-walking uphills allowed me to move forward. The trail cleared out again before the turn-around for some fairly runnable stretches.

I arrived at turn-around in 2:59, where I changed into dry shoes, my New Balance MT101s, and socks. It wouldn't take long for them to be soaking wet again, but starting out with dry feet was a plus. John left at 03:10, and I left at 03:12. In a couple of minutes, I managed to catch up with John Taylor and Marty Kanter-Cronin from Wisconsin (who runs with the Lapham Peak Trail Runners). We ran together and talked for a good hour, before I got a second wind and pulled ahead.
The dreaded mile 19 arrived, with the return trip through the icy slush. Whereas there were a few spots you could step without getting entirely soaked on the way out, you couldn't avoid it on the way back. The warm temperatures had melted a sufficient amount of snow to make the trail a veritable icy stream frosted in slush and snow. I couldn't help but giggle uncontrollable at the absurdity of it all. Here we were, grown men and women playing around in the mud and slush. It took no time at all to freeze my toes, and the woman in front of me couldn't stop laughing at my own mirth.
The second-wind didn't last long after that, and I had to switch to a run/walk strategy to keep moving forward. A few miles later, at mile 23, a well intentioned but mis-informed spectator was out encouraging us. "You have only 5 miles left, 3 miles to the next aid station!" It was possible that my GPS was off, but not necessarily off by two miles. I have to say that his intentions were well placed, but the misinformation was more discouraged than helpful.
John was running strong, and he passed me early in this stretch. The next aid station turned out to be four miles later, not three. I counted the miles in estimated time left on-foot. Averaging about 15 miles per hour, it was a slog. When I made it to the last aid station, the volunteers there were awesome. They were very encouraging and brought a smile to my face. I could do this. Only 3 miles left, and I could be done.
With two miles to go, we traversed up one of the two hills labeled "WALK" on the way out. When reaching the top, a mere 25' further was the site of the start and finish, but by the course, it was another 2 miles away! ARG! From an emotional perspective, it seemed that a few of us were in a funk, a low. At least two runners I spoke with were ready to have the race over with, myself included. Interestingly enough, this spurred me to run rather than walk. I wanted simply to be done and be able to sit and relax.
The final mile, a nice, dry, groomed trail, was such a relief. You could view the finish-line, up on the hill at the visitors center, a hill with teeth. Rather than charging up it, I simply walked most of the last mile. Marty and two others caught and passed me on that last hill, but I didn't mind. I was done! Official finish time 6:58:38.
The next couple of hours was spent trying to recuperate from the run. There was plenty of food for the runners and beer! Jeff signed the Finisher's Picture for the race, which I think was a very cool alternative to a medal. He mentioned that ultra-runners form a different type of community dynamic than your typical marathoners closer to a family than simply acquaintances. I certainly got this feeling as we all sat around, chatted, and cheered in the remaining runners!
I am an ultra-marathoner, and I can't get enough of it! (Even though it hurts to walk today!)