Running Easy or Easy Run?

There are days when running easy is hard and days when running hard is easy. Happy to report today was the latter. I had planned to bike this evening as I need to start getting in a few longish mid-week rides but with the rain earlier and work to get done I decided to just run from home by myself. So I set off for Lake Calhoun at 7pm with no real plan. And what do you know.... Lake of the Isles, Cedar Lake (love the trails on the north side), Calhoun, Harriet... darkness, 17 miles later and I am home!

My legs just wanted to run. And 7:40's felt easy. This, after a fun hill workout at Hyland last night. I guess I have recovered from Afton. Just in time for Saturday's training run on the SHT!

p.s. I just realized this week is likely to be my highest mileage ever >60 miles...!

end of post

Afton 50K

I learned something new about racing today. It's meant to hurt. ALL the time. Not just the last few miles. As someone who swears by negative splits I generally start out very conservatively. Of course on the trail it can be hard to judge pace with the varying terrain, but my motto is to start slow, pick it up around halfway and hammer it home. Today I decided to race from the outset.

Did it pay off? I guess so. Did it hurt? Hell, yes...

With Kami and Pam at the finish

(and Patty's dog Chloe out of picture!)

Even though I was feeling a bit lethargic this week having just got back from a 2 week trip to Ireland which involved long hours at work, late nights catching up with family and friends, a diet of rich food, wine and chocolate, and two triathlons (not all at the same time), I decided on a new strategy for today's race as I figured I had nothing to lose. If it worked, great. If not, at least I'd know I'd tried.

So I took off from the start as if I was racing the 25K. It felt pretty good for the first several miles. The hills were mostly runnable through the early sections. I was very well hydrated as evidenced by the number of bathroom breaks yesterday and through the night (and two more during the race!) and generally don't suffer too much in the heat so I wasn't overly worried if the weather predictions of mid-80s came to pass. Rather than fill up on munchies as I usually do at trail races I stuck with a gel every hour taking the first one 30 minutes in and 1-2 Clif blocks on the hour, along with electrolyte tabs. It was quite a novelty for me to run through the aid stations and not sample a range of treats! I decided not to carry a water bottle given the regular aid stations and also because my shoulders have been pretty bad the past few weeks. Though a massage yesterday definitely helped loosen them up.

A few miles in I was running a little behind a guy who had a beautiful running stride. His upper body hardly moved as he ran. I tried to keep him in my sights for the next few miles, falling back on the uphills and catching up on the flats/rolling hills (I did apologize at the finish for practically breathing down his neck from time to time!). By about halfway on the first loop the field was pretty well spread out so for many miles it was quiet and I know would not have kept the pace up as well had I been alone so I was very grateful to have him as a focal point. Later on the second loop as I found myself doing the same thing with another guy - he was about 20 feet ahead and every time we hit a hill I would make myself keep running until I saw him stopping to walk. There were a few hills he didn't walk at all and I'll be honest I wasn't too happy with him at the time! I hope at some point in the race I was able to encourage other runners in the same way. It is one of the things I love most about trail running - the feeling that we are all part of something larger than ourselves.

By the time we hit the river trail on the first loop I was well and truly warmed up and enjoyed stretching it out along this flat section. My legs were feeling strong but I was a little worried about the various aches and pains I'd felt during the week in yoga. Particularly my hamstrings. The triathlon last weekend was an Olympic distance which normally wouldn't have taken too much out of me but the bike course was extremly windy and the run course hilly, so I'd worked my legs pretty well. Added to that a 45 mile bike ride last Tuesday which felt good until about mile 30. My quads and hamstrings complained for the next 15. Things felt much better Wednesday night during a relatively easy 8-mile run around Medicine Lake but I was sorry I hadn't scheduled the massage earlier in the week as yesterday was too close to have deep tissue work on my legs.

After the flat comes the Meat Grinder - aptly named. This slowed me down nicely but I was able catch a few people so I figured I was still doing ok and I knew that the next aid station wasn't far away and would be around mile 13. After that we entered my favourite part of the course - the Snowshoe Loop. It could be just that I rarely run this section when I come out to train here so it feels like a new trail each year. But also there is some technical single track which I love. The grassy sections are less fun but at least I didn't catch my foot and go tumbling down as I have in previous years... in fact, there were no falls at all this year!

Reaching the end of the first loop in just over 2:13 I was delighted to be told I was second female. And had a good laugh at being told I should try to catch Eve. Yeah, right. It would be all I could do to keep a similar pace on the flat and downhills, knowing I'd need to walk a lot more of the uphills. But I figured at that rate I would make 5 hours, assuming no major issues.

As I set out on the second loop there were a few guys up ahead but after skipping off the course for a bio break I ran alone for the next few miles through the first aid station. Catching sight of my hill-running friend up ahead I managed to keep a decent pace through this section until we emerged out onto the prairie for the Africa Loop. Definitely a few degrees hotter now but thankfully the breeze was still there. This is such a beautiful section of the course - acres of meadow interpersed with wildflowers, the St. Croix below in the distance, and a clear blue sky overhead. Despite not being a fan of loop courses, I could run this part any number of times. And the mile or so of rolling hills allowed my heart rate to settle and my legs to relax before hitting a steep downhill. I wasn't wearing my HRM but I would safely say I was in the low 170s for most of the race, climbing above 180 more than once and dropping into the 160s a few times on the less steep downhills.

Before long we were back at the gravel hill, my least favourite part of the course. Forced to walk much more of the hill the second time around I focused on keeping my upper body straight and shoulders relaxed. I remembered back to last year climbing this hill with Kami and Pam and a Brazilian guy we'd been running with for a few miles. He was living in St. Paul while studying here. By the time I'd recalled our conversation about The Beautiful Game (kindered souls in this foreign land!), I found myself at the top of the hill and back on solid earthen trail.

Feeling like things were going pretty well, I carried on through the short prairie section before heading down Nigel's Hill, enjoying having to concentrate on the technical terrain as I made my way to the river. Just one more climb now, followed by a serious downhill and then a mile or so of flat along the river again. I'd held off looking at my watch for quite a few miles so I was pleased to see 3:44 soon after leaving the second to last aid station. I figured I could make it home in an hour if nothing went wrong.

The Meat Grinder was a killer second time around but the grassy section at the top was almost worse as it wound its way around and around. I badly wanted to see that last aid station! Reaching it at around 4:09 I knew I was in pretty good shape. The last section had taken me around 27 minutes on the first loop. Things continued to go well for the next mile or so as I enjoyed being back on the singletrack. However, as I climbed the first of the significant hills on this section my left hamstring started to cramp pretty bad. I'd never had this happen before and was surprised since it's the right one that has been bothering me. I got such a fright and thought for a few moments that my race was over. I attempted to stretch it but knew immediately that was a bad idea so I sort of shuffled up the hill and once out in the grass again I ran slowly and cautiously for the next several minutes.

Finally it seemed to loosen up and I was able run the section along the creek at a good pace. Searching for that last climb before it opened up into the meadow, I just prayed the muscle would stay relaxed. As soon as the trail began to steepen I started to walk but that made things worse so I tip-toed up the hill trying to stretch my hamstrings as little as possible. A half mile to go. Feeling it relax again I picked up the pace, and followed the trail as it curved around the edge of the woods. A few hundred yards to go, several supporters out along the end of the course. Time to smile! Crossing the finish line is always a great feeling but today really was something special. The 25K out here was my first ever trail race back in 2005. Every step of that race I knew I was running towards something more than a finish line. And today, several hundred trail miles later, that feeling was even more intense.

As always it was great fun hanging out at the end in the glorious sunshine and light breeze. I love the buzz that surrounds these races as everyone catches up on each other's recent endeavours, plotting and planning the next one. Despite the pain and suffering on this hilly course, rarely do you hear "never again"! Congrats to Matt on a PR and to Keith and Julie and all the other now familiar faces. Delighted to have encouraged a few to try it out for the first time, including fellow Plymouth club runners Paul and Eric who ran the 25K. Another Plymouth runner Josh was also out there testing his endurance - a good addition to his IM training schedule. And great to see Patty at the finish - thanks for making the trek out there!

A huge thanks to John for an excellent job in his first year directing this event. Hopefully his pre-race tips ensured no one got lost... Stick to the course. Don't get lost. But if you do get lost, find your way back and let us know you got lost! The medals, awards and finishers shirts that John himself created added to the uniqueness of this wonderful event. Also the volunteers - I can't thank these guys enough for their help and encouragement, they are an integral part of our success.

Needless to say I am very happy with today's race. So many times I have crossed the finish line knowing I had something left in the tank. Those were good days too and I love the feeling of knowing I have room for improvement. But attacking an ultra distance from the outset was a different kind of challenge for me and I'm glad I had the confidence to try it today.

Would I do it again? Sure. Every race? Not a chance. Any day I can finish within a half hour of Eve is a good day. And I look forward to many more good days, knowing there'll surely be a few bad ones along the way (seriously Susan, there will be, I am human). But there's only so much suffering this girl is willing to endure!

4:36:05
2nd Female
14th Overall

end of post.

I'm back

Two weeks without a post. Maybe I've been doing nothing worth talking about? Hardly...

2 triathlon race reports from my trip to Ireland to follow shortly - Mullaghmore June 21 (close to my home in Co. Sligo) and Kilkee June 28 (Co. Clare). If you happen to be contemplating a triathlon which involves an ocean swim you might want to hold off until after you read them :)

Meanwhile, Afton is coming up quick. Not at all ready for it. Still hanging onto my longtime goal of breaking 5hrs but won't be surprised if that plan crumbles in the 80+ degree sunshine. Not that the heat will be to blame. More likely my diet of coffee, chocolate & wine for the past 2 weeks. Complemented by an average 5 hours sleep per night. Taper? Not quite. Fun? You bet.

end of post.

Liberty Triathlon June 2008

I was chatting to Susan the other night about Liberty and was saying something about hoping not to have a bad race. To which Susan responded “And when have you ever had a bad race?” Point taken - with a few exceptions going back to 2005/2006 I seem to have a habit of doing well on the day. But when I wrote in my last blog entry that my goal was 5:24 I really didn’t believe I’d do any better than that – and would have been happy with a few minutes slower. As it turned out I did have another great race. And as I write this I am still trying to figure out how I managed to pull it off...

Pre-race - with my bike marker (No, that is not an Italian flag)

This was my second year at Liberty and after a 5:29 last year I figured taking a few minutes off would be a good start to the triathlon season. I had no real aspirations of improving my PR (5:22 at Pigman last August) and mostly was looking forward to testing out my Tri bike that I purchased a few months ago and have really been enjoying riding. Best of all it promised to be a fun day with a great group of friends and training partners participating in both the Olympic distance and the Half. I picked Pam up at 6am this morning, after a stop at Starbucks to wake me up. We got to Lake Independence to find a pretty full car-park… so much for getting there early! But there was plenty of room on the bike rack and we got ourselves organized pretty easily. Carrie and Susan, also doing the Half, were racked nearby, with Tanya and Karen further up in the Olympic section. The hour went by pretty quickly and next thing it was time to try out the water. I wasn’t looking forward to this having not been in the lake yet this season. But amazingly it felt great. It was cool alright but better than expected. We chatted on the beach as we watched the first few waves take off and then it was our turn – all the ladies going in the water together with the exception of the Elites who were ahead of us. Though I didn’t realize this at the time so when I was busy counting the ladies ahead of me on the out-and-back run course I was actually doing better than I thought!

The swim was as usual a bit of a struggle. My heart rate was way too high and after all my efforts finally learning to breathe both sides what did I do but breathe on the right the whole way. Not a good idea when you have my right shoulder. I’ve been stretching my neck every five minutes this evening to try to loosen it out… I kept pretty well on track with the buoys and swam along side a girl in an Orca wetsuit for several hundred meters which I think helped me keep some sort of pace. Out of the water in just under 42 minutes followed by a short run up the steps and into transition where there were very few bikes remaining! Still, I was happy enough with my time. Although, you would think the 2500 yards in the pool 2 or 3 times a week since January would have helped improve my time over last years... which leaves me questioning why I bother with swim practice at all!

Onto the bike and up the narrow path (surely they could find a way to let us exit the park via the road?) before heading out on route 19. It didn’t take long to notice the wind against us as we headed west. I felt great in the early miles but kept telling myself to stay below 22 mph or I would pay for it later. It’s a pretty hilly course so while I was delighted to be averaging 20 mph through 20 miles I didn’t feel at all confident that I could keep it up. My pace dropped a little through mile 30 after facing into the wind for several miles but picked up again as we turned around so that I hit mile 40 in just under 2 hours. Wow – what was going on here? Around mile 45 my legs started to feel fatigued but once I got up the steep hill from 201 onto County Road 24 for the second time I was feeling pretty good about finishing strong. I had seen Carrie on the out and back section and met Pam at the turnaround. Despite the wind as we headed back towards Lake Independence I kept a good pace and was delighted to be a little under 2:50 as we turned into the park. Carrie (a.k.a. Hawaii qualifier) had the misfortune of a flat tire a few miles from the end which is the only reason she was heading out of transition just ahead of me, with Pam just behind.

The run began with a hill up a woodchip trail which felt quite familiar to me although not entirely welcome at that point as I was tried to stretch out my legs. Pretty quickly I figured out that a 1:40 would get me a PR. Even a 1:45 would have but I had messed up my watch a little so wasn’t entirely sure where I was at. The run course is very pretty as the path winds its way through Baker Park Reserve. I passed a few ladies early on and then it was all guys for several miles. Thinking back to last year when I’d been about 12 minutes slower on the bike and had about 10 ladies ahead of me on the run I figured there were probably less than that today. And by the turnaround I had counted 7. I knew I hadn’t a chance of catching the leaders but was confident of passing a few. But that was before the cramping started at mile 8. I’d been putting in sub-7:30s with mile 7 just under 7 minutes and best of all I felt pretty relaxed. I wasn’t wearing my heart rate monitor but felt like I was no more than 155 bpm. But then without any warning I got a bad pain in my lower right abdomen. It stayed with me for the rest of the run forcing me to stop several times. I’ve rarely experienced cramping this bad. I woke up this morning feeling a little dehydrated but had taken several bottles of water-PowerAde mix to fix that. I had a glass of wine last night to settle the nerves and help me sleep so maybe that had something to do with it but I felt like I needed it at the time! I’d had a pretty busy week at work so I wasn’t thinking too much about the race until yesterday when I had major butterflies on and off throughout the day and was restless last night (mind you, there could have been another reason for the butterflies...). However, while I felt good at the start of the race, I stupidly drank very little on the bike – less than 10 oz. So I expect that was the main cause. I took water and/or coke at every aid station, as well as salt tablets, pretzels, and the several clif blocks I was carrying but I guess it was a bit late to fully mend the situation. At mile 10 I knew it was still possible to get under 1:40 but wasn’t confident I could keep below 8 minute miles. My saving grace was seeing a girl a few hundred feet ahead. I put all my energy into moving towards her and just focused on a steady stride and steady breathing. I passed her after a few minutes and then around the corner saw another girl (read: target) up ahead. This was just what I needed to take my mind of how I was feeling. By the time I reached the 12 mile mark I was feeling pretty confident that the cramping would not get any worse and started to pick up the pace slightly. Up the hill, through the tunnel and soon we were back in the campground. I continued to pick up the pace as I approached the trail again and ran hard down the hill towards the lake and then a pretty strong finish down the home straight.

While I am delighted with my overall time I was a little disappointed with my run (I can’t just be happy can I?). I managed the fastest run for the women today but had been hoping to do under 1:38 though I kept this goal to myself. 1:38 is my half marathon PR but it's been a long time since I raced one so I figure it's time to break that record - even during a half ironman... but I guess the faster bike, and dehydration, put a stop to that. Which leads me to wonder how I should approach this distance in the future… do I hammer it on the bike and likely suffer somewhat on the run or do I ease up a bit on the bike and be able to run stronger? I guess today was a good test and has left me feeling confident that with a good bike I can still do a decent run even if it hurts more than I’d like. My goal for IM Arizona is 11:22 but perhaps I’ll be re-configuring how I plan to achieve that!

Tanya - Susan - Helen - Carrie

The stats...
Swim: 42:34 (2:01/100 yards)
T1: 2:25
Bike: 2:48:33 (19.9 mph)
T2: 1:47
Run: 1:39:46 (7:37 min/mile)
Total: 5:15:02

4th Female Overall
3rd in Age Group

p.s. 1st & 2nd place in my age group were from Ontario and North Dakota respectively. I was complaining about foreigners coming here taking the top spots away from us locals... I wasn't long being reminded what colour my passport is :)

Triathlon season is here again!

Hard to believe my first triathlon of the season is just around the corner (to be quickly followed by no. 2 & no. 3 across the Atlantic!). I had hoped I'd be better prepared. But I guess a 38 mile trail run a week out and a complete inability to truly taper don't help the situation. Still, I am looking forward to Liberty Half IM on Saturday. I took part in this event for the first time last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. The swim is what it is - I'm hoping to improve slightly on last year and be out of the water in 42 minutes. I should do it given that I've been swimming a lot more this year but we'll see... the bike course is different from last year but I am pretty familiar with it after a few training rides. A few more hills but overall a nice course. Assuming the weather cooperates I'm aiming for something under 3 hours - would love to average 19mph (~2:56) but I think that might be a little ambitious. As for the run - hard to tell as I haven't raced anything on the road in so long. Will my trail miles carry me through? I'm feeling confident I can match last years time of 1:39:47. So with transitions included I guess my goal is somewhere around 5:24. But overall I'll be happy to beat last years time of 5:29. Not ready to PR (5:22 at Pigman Aug 07) and given that I've decided to give Pigman a miss this year (will be time to concentrate on Sawtooth!) I guess that will have to wait until next year...

end of post.

Kettle Moraine Fun Run

The top half...

... and the bottom half

Report to follow later. Once I dry off. And take a nap.

Later… Ok, this will be shorter than usual as its 8pm and I have not seen my bed since getting up at 5am yesterday morning (somehow trying out my new lawnmower seemed like a better option than taking a nap). There’ll be two main themes to this report – rain and food. You might be surprised by how we managed to keep going in the torrential downpours, but you’ll be truly amazed by how much I can eat before, during and after a 38 mile run. Some people lose their appetite without sleep. Clearly, I am not one of them.

We started in the rain and we finished in the rain. In between there was some more rain. And some thunder. And some lightening. Yes it was fun, but it was also kinda spooky, wetter than any race I’ve done, and ultimately not an experience I would have liked to go through alone. So I was very glad to be alongside my good friends and running buddies Kami and Pam for the entire event. We took turns deciding who was to blame for this deranged idea but given that Pam was top of the list of registered runners having signed up back in December it was always going to be her fault! Not that either Kami or I took much convincing. We are both signed up for Sawtooth in early September and figured the night running would be good experience.

Seeing as we’ll already be on our feet for 12 hours on that occasion before 8pm rolls around I thought I’d at least make myself pretty tired starting out. So after volunteering with Michelle at Manitou packet-pick up Friday evening I headed down to Lake Nokomis at 5:30am Saturday morning to help with set-up for the FANS 12 & 24hr events. And let me just say that volunteering at this event is as close to it as I ever want to get – I have great admiration for anyone that can run endless laps around a lake but I just don’t think I’m programmed for that sort of thing. I find it bad enough having to do 2 loops at the Afton 50K!

Breakfast ~8am:

Large skim latte, scone

The girls picked me up around lunchtime though I hadn’t yet eaten my lunch (busy buying the lawnmower, finally). Off we went towards 94 East as I settled into the back seat before tucking into my lunch:

Greek yogurt & chicken

Followed a little while later by a treat from one of my fav stores – Breadsmith – courtesy of Pam:

Currant scone

I took over the driving a few hours later and the ladies broke out a few more treats…

Large bag gummis (minus the handful that Pam took), Grapes. Lots of them. Thanks Kami!

We tried to find a Starbucks on the outskirts of Madison but were unsuccessful, despite having printed off the locations of all such coffee shops in the locale. So gas station it was:

Starbucks Frappachino, Cranberry Flaxseed roll from Breadsmith

After a quick pit stop at Pam’s friends bar in Whitewater, where we changed into our running gear and organized our drop bags – and heard about the tornado sirens going off a little earlier, we set off for the start line, dropping the bags at the aid station on highway 12. We were cutting it pretty fine at this stage as I’d had to slow down considerably a few times along the drive during torrential downpours. The rain was so heavy it was like a wall of white in front of the car. We saw several vehicles pulled off to the side. Among them a few unfortunate motorcyclists!

Twix

At the start we quickly got checked in and made sure we had our water bottles, headlamps and most importantly sprayed ourselves heat to toe with 100% DEET. Yep, the kind of stuff that literally takes car paint off. Given the extremely humid conditions we knew the bugs would be out in force so we were taking no chances. Inside the cabin I helped myself to a few final pre-race treats:

M&Ms, gummi bears, potatoe chips

35 people had signed up for the fun run as of June 2 but I would say only 20 or so showed up at the start. I expect the bad weather kept more than a few at home. But not us – in some corner of our brains I think we were excited to see how we’d cope with the conditions. At 8pm, after a few words about the course markings and aid stations, the race director sent us off. Pam and Kami had run the Ice Age 50 miler on the same course back in early May so they were familiar with the route – at least in daylight hours. We had about 1 hour of good light and then it started to fade quickly, especially under the thick tree cover where we spent the majority of the run, interspersed with sections of prairie. We ran the first few miles in a bunch of about 10 people, chatting to a few around us. Surprisingly quite a few of the runners were doing this as their first ultra. I remember feeling bad for the people at Chippewa who had picked that one as their first. All things considered, even without the extra 7 miles, I’d have to say this run was tougher. But little did we know in these early miles just how bad it would get. The light rain soon stopped and we were getting well warmed up in the humid conditions. I had on the same clothes as my last race in New Mexico – shorts, vest top and long sleeve over it. And I was equipped with a Black Diamond Icon headlamp. From the spec I knew it should last the entire night on the 3 AA batteries giving good light over a sufficient distance. But I was worried it would feel quite heavy on my head. Turned out to be very comfortable and it gave great light so I’m happy to have that sorted and not have to worry about finding another one for Sawtooth. Chances are I’ll not be practicing with it again between now and then… At around 5 miles we arrived at Aid Station 1:

¼ turkey sandwich, ¼ grilled cheese sandwich, coke, cantaloupe

The aid stations were unbelievably well stocked and as always, the volunteers couldn’t have been more helpful. They are the real troopers, hanging out there all night in horrible conditions. We chatted with a few other runners are then set off through the pine forest, elegant trees that seemed to reach forever, allowing just a fraction of the evening light to come through. Pretty soon we switched on the headlamps and started to get comfortable navigating the course in the semi-darkness. Both of the girls also carried a hand held torch. I had brought one to the race but had decided to leave it behind and I think I’ll do the same in the 100 miler as the headlamp really seemed to work well. There were a few ups and downs along this section of the trail so we walked most of the hills and just tried to settle into a steady pace. The footing was quite smooth as we continued along towards Aid Station 2 – which was set up across the trail with a large canopy between the trees, very jungle like:

gummi bears, M&Ms, coke, ¼ hummus sandwich, watermelon, ¼ banana

Chatted to the volunteers for a few minutes and off we went towards Confusion Point. Aptly named as it took us a few minutes to figure out which direction we were headed. The trail started to get quite technical along the next section but so far we were managing to keep upright. It opened up to a section of prairie which the girls remembered as a very scenic part of their 50 miler. And then back into the woods where we spent the next several miles, passing an unmanned aid station at around 10 miles:

water (and bugspray… no I didn’t eat that, but I had managed to ingest more than a few gnats along the way)

We ran with another 38 miler for a part of the next section – the guy who had kindly taken the can of spray paint to touch up the arrows on the ground. It was pretty amazing how well these arrows remained intact, even with all the rain. We were having fun for the most part. Running along pretty smoothly, shouting out warnings of roots and rocks, stray branches, fallen trees, all the while listening to the cacophony of crickets, frogs, birds bringing the night to life. We reached aid station 4 at mile 14, where our drops were waiting, in just under 3 hours. We felt like things were going pretty well. At least until the kind volunteer told us he’d just heard the radar warnings and there was definite rain along with thunder and lightening on the way. Great. Just what we wanted to hear.

loadsa blueberries, mashed potatoes & veg (seriously, it was like dinner), watermelon, orange segments, ¼ banana, more blueberries, coke, bag of gummis from my drop-bag

We’d all been struggling a little between odd aches and pains, stomach issues and general tiredness. Nothing too serious, I was having knee pain mostly in my right knee which I thought at first was my old meniscus injury (skiing accident several years ago) bothering me as I’d felt it towards the end of last Wednesday’s run. But soon the left knee started to feel the same and I think it was due to running a lot of the balls of my feet as it was quite hard to get decent foot placement so we ended up sort of hopping/skipping through some of the more technical sections.

Within a quarter mile of the aid station as we were entering a rocky section I took my first fall. In fact it was the only time any of us went down fully. Which was considerably better than our pre-race predictions when we thought we might need a ‘best-blood’ award. Luckily I fell onto soft ground. And then the rain started. And the lightening. That was by far the scariest part of the night. We hit a few open sections and the sky would light up and within moments we’d hear the thunder. We were already wet given the high humidity and some light rain over the first few hours. Or so we thought. But within about 20 minutes we discovered a whole new level of wet. Along with trying to stay upright as the trail got muddier and water-logged, I was worried my blisters would start to re-appear but luckily they never did. Despite the rain, we were feeling pretty good about our progress given that our original estimate for the run had been 10 hours but now we expected to hit the turnaround close to 4 hours. We met and passed a few 100 milers along here, including the winning lady who was looking very fresh when she came by us before we reached the turnaround, and also the guys from Iowa we’d started out with. And then we reached the turnaround at Rice Lake. Yet another full on aid station:

gummi bears, coke, watermelon, ¼ banana, orange segments, pretzels, cantaloupe, potatoe chips

We left there at exactly 4 hours on the clock. The journey back through this technical section was pretty rough but we knew what to expect as the rain continued to fall. We met a lot of people along here – a mix of 100 milers and other fun runners. We tried to make sure the 100 milers knew we were just doing the short one as I couldn’t imagine anything more depressing than meeting 3 fairly upbeat gals at mile 80 after the day they’d been through.

We were soaked, every bit of us. But now that we’d turned we felt like every step was getting us closer to the finish. And dry clothes. We got back to highway 12 in just about an hour so we were pleased not to have lost time on that section. We weren’t treating this as a race by any means, and while we weren’t having an altogether terrible time out there we did want to get done as soon as possible. We talk a lot about adventure racing at some point in the future. I can honestly I felt like I got a taste of it last night and I am not at all sure it’s for me!

Kami’s torch was dying so we replaced the batteries but unfortunately none of us thought to check the headlamps! I had figured mine should last ok so I hadn’t planned to replace the batteries but Pam had intended to. Her lamp started to fade a few miles later. Even though mine held up ok I will definitely be keeping spare batteries in my drop bag(s) for the 100 miler. My appetite was finally beginning to wane at this point so not a lot of grub on the return visit:

blueberries, coke

We were all feeling pretty bloated at this stage and trying to figure out what foods would work best for ease of digestion. This is something I should really pay more attention to versus just chowing down whatever looks good! I’ve managed to avoid any serious stomach issues in all of my races but I expect it will catch up with me some day so I’d be better off knowing what would work best at difference stages of an ultra. Pam led us off through the next section which suddenly seemed to have more climbs on the return journey. This was a theme that would repeat itself all the way to the finish. How easy it is in the early miles to just run up and down hills and hardly even notice them but then just a few hours later it’s a whole different ball game. The next section felt very long. It was just under 5 miles back to the unmanned aid station but it seemed like twice that. The girls remembered this as being the mentally toughest part of the 50 miler also. And of course the mud didn’t help – we were slipping and sliding all over the place. I’d rolled my left ankle a few times earlier but it hadn’t really bothered me but now I went over on the right one – my weak one – not so good.

Eventually we reached the lonely aid station with just water and bugspray and duly loaded up on both. The one good thing about the rain was that the bugs weren’t really out. And amazingly for one who seems to attract mozzies like magnets do each other, I came away without one bite. The next section started to get quite rocky and again felt longer than the outbound journey but we were still keeping pretty good time and managing to run most of it. Pam’s lamp finally faded so I took the lead and led us though some prairie and more technical section climbing up to Confusion Point and about a half mile later back to the jungle aid station:

coke, ½ turkey sandwich, ¼ banana

Leaving there we had something over 7 miles to go. God, we so wanted to be done at this point. The rain was on and off at this stage. But the damage was long done. Every so often my shoes would get some of their bounce back and inevitable next thing I know I’m in the middle of a huge puddle. There was no easy way to get through this. Just one foot in front of the other. As we re-entered the pine forest the trail opened up nicely so we were able run with slightly less concentration. We reached the final aid station at about 7:15 on the clock. With just about 5 miles to go we knew we wouldn’t be making 8 hours but we were making good progress and coming back within 10-20 minutes of the out journey was pretty darned good in those conditions.

orange segments, cheddar cheese, pretzels, coke

On the trail again. Just as we reached the mile 4 marker (miles 1-4 were marked with signs – nice idea to get people back through the last few miles after a long day out there) the rain started again and then the hills hit us. Definitely more than there was several hours ago. Somewhere along this section Kami asked the inevitable question – ‘So, if you knew the conditions would be this bad, would you still have come?’ ‘Absolutely’, ‘Sure’. ‘Me too’. Nutcases. But at least I’m not alone.

Counting down the time between each mile, passing a few 100 milers and hoping to give them welcome company for a few minutes, we came through mile 3, mile 2 and finally mile 1. YES. We picked up the pace as best we could and just went for it. I’d say this is where my heart rate hit its peak but I’d managed to keep it very low on average throughout the run so that was good as often on technical courses where I’m continually tensing my body my heart rate can get quite high.

Remembering this last section of very soft trail, even more so now, then seeing the lights in the distance, and finally crossing the white line in the grass, in just over 8:12. Welcomed home by a great bunch of people who out on a really great event. I would definitely like to be back here next year for the 100km. I don’t think I’d take on a 100 miler here – I’d have a hard time dealing with that humidity for the entire race!

We were hosed down (literally), in warm clean clothes and on the road by 5am. Though not before another feed now that the running was done:

Recoverite, banana, pretzels, turkey sandwich

The trip home was pretty non-eventful. A few more heavy showers but pretty clear by the time we crossed the Mississippi. Since we had the time, we went right into Madison to get ourselves a nice large coffee from Starbucks. Heaven.

Stats

Run distance: 38 miles

Run time: 8:12:47

Pace: 12:59 per mile

Calories consumed: God knows

Calories expended: 3452

Average HR: 127

Max HR: 157

Overall Rating: FUN

Back on the bike...

Great bike ride with Eric tonight. What a difference from Saturday! I know it was a lot shorter but felt good out there and has renewed my confidence for Liberty on the 14th. We did some of the course including the lovely hill up 201 onto 24. Can't wait to do it twice on race day. I am not sure why I felt so bad Saturday. I know I probably overdid it Memorial Weekend with a lot of running just a week after Jemez, so maybe it was all building up. In any case, it's no harm to have crummy days. Keeps me grounded. As Kami would say "it's good to be humble". Indeed it is. I can't say it comes entirely natural to me but I'll work on it :)

I hope everyone preparing for FANS on Saturday is enjoying their taper this week. I will be down there bright and early to help out with pre-race set-up and sign-in. I figured it was time I volunteered for something given how much I benefit from others at all the races I do. And it's all part of the plan to be truly tired Saturday night as we set off for 38 miles at Kettle Moraine! Got my Black Diamond Icon headlamp today so looking forward to checking that out.

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Return to Zumbro

This morning Pam & I found ourselves back at Zumbro Bottoms accompanied by Kami & Eric. What a glorious day for trail running. Unfortunately the trail was not quite what we'd been expecting. While we were glad not to be running on ice and snow as we did when we first ran down here with John & Steve back in early April, we'd been hoping for something similar to the terrain at Afton. But between the rain and the horses it was a little on the muddy side - no doubt bringing back memories of Kami's 50 miler in Kentucky earlier this year where the biggest challenge was to keep your shoes on! Still, it was a fun adventure and always good to change it up a bit. Beautiful views from higher up on the ridges and along with the deer sighting Eric also spotted a turtle on the trail! Given how much difficulty we were having with the mud I can't imagine how slow his progress was :)

Kami rolled her ankle badly enough so hopefully it will be fully recovered in time for next Saturday's 'fun run' through the night at Kettle Moraine. Despite the obvious nuttiness of the event I am really looking forward to the experience. Even just the idea of staying up through the night and seeing how we feel on 2 feet by 6am will be a taste of how we need to prepare for Sawtooth. Speaking of Lutsen - several more recruits this week for the Moose Mountain marathon! It will be a blast up there.

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54 miles on the bike...

And I think I complained for 50 of them! My legs just did not want to spin as fast as my head wanted them to. But I guess there'll be days like that. Despite my lethargy I had a lovely morning hanging out with friends, checking out a new route in Scott County - and finally biking in decent weather! Carrie (a.k.a Hawaii qualifier) and Pam were in flying form, as were the boys - Eric was more than able for the distance on just his second ride on the new wheels, and Igor was getting in a warm-up before a half-marathon tomorrow. What a bunch of level-headed folks we are. To further illustrate this point, Igor, who I had not biked with before, explained to us how he is doing his first triathlon at Lifetime in July, followed by a half IM in Chisago. And yes, you've guessed it - next stop is IM Wisconsin in September! Makes my 2008 race calendar seem altogther reasonable...

Heading south to Zumbro Bottoms tomorrow morning to run the trails Pam & I discovered courtesy of Larry etc back in April. Should be fun - assuming the legs feel a little more alive!

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Hail Storm

Wow - that was not a fun experience. I was driving home from Ridgedale listening to the storm warnings and figured I'd be okay to get home as the storm was heading southeast and was hitting downtown at that point. Well, I guess it decided to come a little west so once I got onto Excelsior Bvld the hail was coming down pretty heavy. I pulled into a gas station as soon as I could and it blew past pretty quickly. And yes, I did snap a few photos while driving though it... exactly the sort of thing I would call someone stupid for :)

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Yoga by Candlelight

Ah yes, this is the way to finish off the week and ease into the weekend. I usually count my yoga classes as strength training (thereby allowing myself to never go to the gym) but this one was a little different than the 6am Vinyasa flow. Kim took us through a very relaxing, restorative sequence in a heated room lit by candlelight. I've often taken her Vinyasa classes and she is great at introducing new poses to release particular areas of tension. A whole hour of this was just what I needed tonight... before a long bike ride tomorrow and an even longer run Sunday!

Enjoy the weekend - looks like we might finally be heading towards summer...
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The (magic) Stick

I tend to go a little crazy at pre-race expos (and sports stores in general) but the $16 spent on The Stick at Grandma's marathon last year was absolutely money well spent. I am convinced this nifty little device has rescued my hamstrings more than once. It's essentially a massage tool that is very easy to use. However, as with everything regular use is the key. I've been pretty dismal on that front, just picking it up when I feel tightness. But recently I've been trying to use it for 15 minutes every night - hamstrings, quads and calves. And given the absence of tightness in my hamstrings the mornings after tough workouts I think it's working. Just need to keep it up...

Biking in the wind

Pam's theory is that we will be biking in the wind all summer long - but that come IM Arizona in November it will be totally calm. And we'll fly. I sure hope she is right. It would be just reward given that we seem destined to train in dodgy weather conditions. This evening was no different. It looked like we'd have to cancel but by 6pm the severe weather warnings were expiring and none were too close to Plymouth anyway so Pam, Eric and I decided it was worth a shot. It was either that or Eric might have found himself shopping at Gear West again, without having road-tested his fabulous new Trek Madone 5.2! It was fun heading out on rt. 24 with the wind behind us. Not so much on the way home, after a loop around Lake Independence. But the rain held off until close to Lifetime and we managed to average 17.8 for approx 30 miles so can't complain about that.

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TNT

It was finally time to attempt the Cadence Multisports/Gear West sponsored Tuesday Night Time trials. After a quick swim (all pull-buoy to save the legs), I met up with Pam at the Holy Name church car park on county road 24. I have to say I got a bit of a shock seeing how big a deal this event clearly is. Top of the range bikes in every direction and some folks even had trainers set up to get warmed up! We were towards the end of the line signing which was just what I wanted since I knew there'd be no chance of me passing anyone out there.

The teams started first at 7pm and thereafter us individuals set off 30 seconds apart. We were number 50 & 51 so we got going around 7:30pm. It's an 11 mile out-and-back route along 24 with the turnaround just before the junction with 19. I know the road extremely well from numerous training rides the past few years but those unexpected hills get me every time. Of course with only 11 miles I figured I would just hammer from the get-go... I was gasping for breath within about 2 minutes! Pam caught me just after the turnaround and I struggled to keep her in my sight. But it was good motivation on pretty tired legs coming back... I messed up with my computer so I'm not sure it got the average correct but it read 20.2 mph so I'd say that was about right. Whew - given how my legs feel right now I can't imagine ever being able to keep that pace for a triathlon of any distance!!

Nevertheless it was a fun way to spend a Tuesday evening and I expect I'll be making another trip back there for the next one in 2 weeks time.

post note: turns out I averaged 21.28 mph and Pam 21.71. Not bad for our first attempt!
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Sweet Afton

No not the poem. These are a brand of cigarette I became all too familiar with as a teenager. I didn't smoke them but may as well have. I worked in a pub at the weekends. A 'real Irish pub' - the kind where they didn't believe in ventilation, where 90% of the clientele were male, 90% of the males were smokers, and 90% of the smokers enjoyed this brand of filterless cigarette. Boy, did my eyes burn. On more than one ocassion my boss asked me who said something to upset me and make me cry. I needed the measly 5 pounds a night (the equivalent of about $7 at the time) too much to tell him he ought to cough up for a few fans around the place.

I digress. Afton, the park, is very sweet indeed. And doesn't make me eyes burn. Just my quads. Nonetheless Pam and I ran a very fun 16 miles yesterday and this morning I headed out again. Eric (the first person I have met in years who, like me, has been to Laos!) is signed up for the 25K in July so I took him around part of the course - the part I usually manage not to get lost on. My legs felt great. I know I probably shouldn't have run 2 days in a row but it's hard to pass up an opportunity to run out there, especially with the lovely weather early this morning.

I should have left it at that but instead went for a 2hr+ bike ride with Tanya this afternoon. It was my first time to ride the Orbea since I got the computer put on. Given how pathetic my average speed was I am hoping it just isn't calibrated correctly!

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Recovery

It's seems way longer than a week since I was battling with the mountains in Jemez - although my legs would not agree. Definitely not quite recovered yet. I had a massage Monday evening which really helped and since then it's been mostly yoga and a few swims. Yesterday I did a 6 mile run. It felt okay but the legs were a little heavy. This morning the MN Tri club had their first century ride of the season - followed by a picnic pancake breakfast! We started at Lake Independence so we got to check out the new Liberty course (one word - hilly!). NO, I did not attempt 100 miles... I'd been hoping to do 50-60 but legs felt quite tired. And it was windy out there. So Pam and I did 45 and then I proceeded to eat way too many pancakes!! Now for the fun part of the day - it's time to make the yard look pretty...

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Jemez Mountain - the full story...

New Mexico – The Land of Enchantment

This was my first visit to NM and I would have to agree there is something mystical about the place. Though it could just be a dulled sense of reality that comes with being 7000-10000ft above sea level which is where I spent my three days there. I signed up for what would be the 3rd annual Jemez Mountain Trail Runs (there’s also a 50K and a 20K) back in January after a friend from Colorado emailed me about it. Kristen had planned to run it but unfortunately ankle problems prevented her from signing up. I had been looking to do a 50 miler in the first half of the year but hadn’t found one that really appealed to me. A lot of the races I’d researched had multiple loops or were in places that would make it difficult to get to for just the weekend. So when Kristen mentioned this one I immediately checked out the website and I think I was so concerned about the altitude that the elevation gain/loss didn’t really sink in. I’d run at altitude in Utah last year and while it didn’t seem to affect me the highest point on that course was 7000ft which was the lowest on this course! Still, the prospect of another trail running adventure in the southwest and the excellent reports I’d read about this relatively new event was enough for me to send off my entry and use up a few more frequent flier miles...

I flew into Albuquerque on Friday afternoon and after a quick stop in Santa Fe, arrived in Los Alamos around 4pm. I decided to take a drive out to the race start to get my bearings for the morning. It was pretty easy to find the starting area at the Posse Shack on the edge of town and would take about 10 minutes to get out there in the morning. The race started at 5am so it would be an early one. The pre-race dinner and meeting was at the local High School so I headed over there after checking into the hotel. The race director’s briefing was very helpful, if a little alarming. I discovered the course was different from last years in that a fourth ‘significant’ climb had been added. Just in case it wasn’t difficult enough already they had decided we needed another trip above 10,000ft. Also, there was quite a bit of snow remaining in some of the higher elevation and heavily forested areas. With all this in mind I began revising my goal time once more. This would be my second 50M and while the first one last November was a pretty tough course it had less than half the elevation gain/loss and started not much above sea level. I’d been telling myself 12hrs until last week when I finally got around to looking up last year’s race results and recognizing a few of the leading ladies decided that 13hrs was a more likely result. Now, upon hearing of the added difficulty and the snow I decided to add another hour.

After a pretty decent sleep I got up at 3:45am, had a light breakfast and headed off to the start. Got signed in, handed over my drop-bags and chatted to a few other runners – including two of Kristen’s friends, Brian and Theresa, who’d traveled down from Boulder for the race. After a half cup of coffee, and a quick trip to the bathroom I lined up at the start and a few minutes later we were off. I immediately regretted my decision to abandon my headlamp at the shack as it was pretty dark once we turned off the gravel road onto the singletrack. But thankfully the guys ahead and behind me had good lamps. And within about 20 minutes it started to get light – so we had no excuse for taking a wrong turn about 3 miles into the race. We’d been following the trail through a dried up river bed for about a half mile and a small group of us that were running together continued straight instead taking a left turn. Just as the trail started to get quite gnarly we heard a guy shouting at us from the turn. I guess we’d only gone about a quarter mile… but it wouldn’t be the first time I’d lose concentration that day!

I was carrying 2 hand-held water bottles with a gel and clif-blocks in each so I didn’t stop for anything at the first aid station at mile 5. By this time we were already climbing towards Guaje Ridge which took us above 8800ft. Just after leaving the aid station I needed a quick bio break – I’d been drinking water nonstop since getting off the plane as I knew I needed to be extra-hydrated for the altitude. We were running through a burnt out forest area so there wasn’t much coverage but I found a rock just large enough to hop behind. Continued up towards the second aid station where I took a few nibbles and a drink of coke. Mostly hiking along here until we reached the top of the ridge and started the descent on soft trail through thick forest and across a few streams. Along this section I chatted with 2 guys who scared me a little with their tales of 50-70 mile training weeks… my response: “Jesus, I’m in the wrong race”. Since January I’ve run 40+ miles a week on two occasions and one of them was a week with a 50K race. I know I do a lot of cross-training and it definitely helps my fitness and helps prevent injuries but I sometimes think to really improve at running I should do more of it. The pace was pretty easy at this stage and I was feeling good so I continued on ahead of these guys at the next aid station at mile 10 at the base of Caballo Mountain. Upon exiting the aid station I saw the lovely notice on the tree – 1800ft climb over 2 miles. Whoa, this will be fun. Up we went, and up and up and up. Hitting patches of snow along the way and crossing dozens of fallen tree trunks. I soon realized this section of the course was an out and back (or more precisely an up and down) as the leading guys and ladies flew down past us. Of course I couldn’t help but count the number of ladies and discovered by the top that I was in 16th place. I’d been in a group of 4 ladies for most of the climb and as soon as I tied my shoes tighter at the top and started to descend I passed these ladies and caught a few others by the bottom. I wasn’t consciously trying to catch them (me?) as it was way too early for that but I can’t help myself on the downhills!

Back through the base aid station, quick refill of water and headed off for yet more climbing. Just under 1200ft gain for the next few miles with some downhill also. It was very pretty as we climbed the switchbacks and then later we ran through a nice soft section of trail in a heavily forested area. Our first drop bags were at the next aid station at mile 17 so I stopped to grab a stash of gummi bears (of course) and refilled my water. I’d taken one gel by this stage and a few clif-blocks so I replaced these also. And then the serious fun started. The Pipeline - it was like stepping off the edge. Down I went along a 75% grade gravel slope, sliding all over the place, bashing my left elbow on a rock one minute and then slid painfully along for a few yards on my right hip. Ow! Worst of all I got lots of gravel in my shoes. So that’s why so many people were wearing gaiters. Another quick bio break about halfway down – not exactly the safest place to stop but it had to be done! Once I finally got down the hill the trail emerged from the woods onto a dirt road and we continued along a relatively flat section for a few miles through Valles Caldera National Preserve. I felt pretty good at this stage and the weather was holding up nicely. Warm but cloudy so the sun was not too intense. I passed a few people along here and shortly after arrived into aid station 6 at mile 21. The guys here were hilarious. It goes without saying that all race volunteers are complete angels but it just seemed like every one of them at this race would not have wanted to be anywhere but here helping us get through the day. I spent a few minutes here, downed a few cups of coke, took a handfull of M&Ms and a few fig rolls and sat down to take off my shoes and shake out the gravel. My blisters from Promise Land had just started to bother me a little but I decided not to take off my socks to look at them! While I was having a seat I asked the guys what time it was. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know but was curious all the same. 10:26. WOW – I’d been out here for five and a half hours! I wasn’t happy or disappointed regarding the time, just amazed how quickly it had gone by. I took off my gloves and long sleeve and tied it around my waist – and attempted to stuff my gloves in the sleeves as I figured I’d need them again up on the snowy peaks yet to be climbed. But I discovered a while later that I’d dropped one of them.

By the time I’d left the aid station a few of the people I’d passed had already come through. We continued to trade places along the next section as we started to climb towards Cerro Grande at 10,200ft – which was the added feature this year. Along the way to the top we crossed a boulder field, quite the thing to get the heart rate going. A wrong footing here and my knees would look even less pretty. Close to the top I met up with Olga, a neat Russian lady living in Portland. Not only did she manage to take dozens of photos* while running a great race, she also seemed to be having more fun than the rest of us put together! After taking in the fabulous views at the summit, across to Pajarito Mountain and down into the valley, we then descended into Canyon de Valle – encountering a steep section of forest trail and then the other side of the boulder field. I’m not sure which was more dangerous, going up or down. Once through that we were out into a very picturesque setting running though high altitude meadows with some rolling hills. This was one of my favourite sections of the course. The trail was rough in places, the grass was quite long and there were small rocks strewn all over the place but it was so pretty. I passed a few ladies along here and figured by now I was maybe number 7 or 8 but I had lost track going through some of the aid stations. Not to mention that it was only the halfway point!

This was the longest section of the course without aid stations but I had plenty of supplies. The two water bottles were definitely a good idea and I didn’t seem to be as hungry as usual. Not necessarily a good thing but I felt like I had plenty of energy. I was able run at a pretty good pace for the next few miles of relatively flat section. Although I came to a sharp stop upon encountering a barbed wire fence – and not a little one you could step over. No, this took a bit of work to avoid a nasty injury. Once through that I caught up with a few guys and ran behind them for a while, listening to their stories, falling flat on my face as I started to lose concentration! I think I gave the guy in front of my quite a shock as I tumbled down and my water bottle went flying. No lasting damage. Off we went again. I stayed with these guys until we hit a few hills and they were taking it easier. The next aid station at Pajarito Canyon was a busy spot, a few people had got there just ahead of us and there were others taking a break. Our second drop bag was here but I decided I didn’t need anything from it. In retrospect I think I was a bit out of it here as I had no sooner left the aid station than I realized I was almost out of clif-blocks and really really wished I’d grabbed some more gummi bears! I started out from here feeling pretty strong, cruising through the next mile or so of forested trail. But before long the climbing started again with almost 1300ft gain and very little downhill over the next few miles. It had been pretty warm for the past few hours but the clouds were starting to gather. My legs didn’t feel awful but I was beginning to feel mentally drained. The fact that it was only around the 50K mark was getting to me. So by the time we reached the ski lift at mile 32.6 I need a boost. And what did I see as soon as I reached the food table…. McDonald’s French Fries!! Now, I know that McD’s is an evil empire. I haven’t seen Fast Food Nation. I don’t need to, I see it everyday. But at that moment in time I don’t think anything else could have tasted quite as good as those fries – complete with salt and ketchup! Did I mention how wonderful the volunteers were? Energized, if only for a brief time, I put back on my long sleeve top and faced up the mountain once more. About 10 minuntes later I caught up with a Canadian guy living in Texas and we chatted for a little while. I knew I didn’t want to hear the answer but I asked anyway – is the last of the big climbs? No. Oh dear…

I continued on but began to get more and more pissed off as the wind picked up and it got quite cold. Yet another bio break. This was unusual for me but at least my stomach was feeling pretty good and I guess I was drinking more than usual. I thought the uphill would never end. It turned out this was in fact the last journey above 10,000ft (10,441ft to be exact) but I didn’t know this as the time. Adam has an inspriring 6 word mantra he likes to use – I opted for a simpler one… f**k f**k f**k, f**k f**k f**k. My lower back was starting to ache a little. Nothing terribly worrying and I was sort of expecting it. I knew I just had to keep a good posture but that was getting more and more difficult. I regretted not doing more core work. I’d really worked on it last year and was in better shape for my first 50 miler that I felt I was for this one. My off-season layer around the middle just doesn’t want to budge. I guess opting for desert at every opportunity doesn’t help (or french fries). Finally, after passing the black diamond sign verifying just how steep the uphill had been I reached the top and it was time to see if my legs could actually run. There was quite a bit of snow and damp ground along the flat section and I had more than one flashback to Chippewa. But at least it was a good 20 degrees warmer here. Before long I hit the downhill. And I mean DOWNHILL. As in straight down the middle of the ski slope. As one guy I spoke to at the finish asked: Don't they believe in switchbacks in New Mexico? I normally love downhills but I this one took more out of me than any of the climbs. I was so scared I was going to turn an ankle. My right one is quite weak from pulled ligaments many years ago (not running related but a good story all the same…) so I side-stepped down with my left foot first, with the result that the outside of my left calf is aching even more than my quads right now.

Mile 36 aid station. If ever there was a time I wanted to drop out of a race this was it. I almost cried. I just didn’t think I had another big climb left in me. I barely spoke to the volunteers other than to take a quick look at the map and ask how far to the next aid station. Only 3 miles and thankfully not too much climbing. So on I went. The funny thing was that I knew my legs were fine. I just couldn’t get my head and body to connect. I walked several times in this section even though it wasn’t that hilly. I would tell myself I had to run the flat parts but at the sign of the slightest incline I’d slow to a walk and try to justify it to myself. The guys behind me were gaining on me but I didn’t care. After my first 50 miler my friend Susan had asked ‘What do you think about for 50 miles?’ A lot I guess but mostly (1) how grateful I am that I can do this; (2) how stupid I am that I choose to do this; and (3) how amazing I’m going to feel when I cross the finish line. Right now I was focused on number 2.

About 40 minutes later I got to the next aid station at Pipeline Road where we’d been before. This was a cross-roads on the course. On top of everything my blisters had gotten quite painful so I decided to sit for a few minutes and check them out. I patched them up and changed my socks. Olga and a few others had come through in the meantime. I took another gel with me and a bag of gummi bears (anything to cheer me up) and as I was leaving asked one of the volunteers how bad the next section was – assuming that I was facing into the last big climb. But I was told it was nothing compared to what I’d just done. Weird. I took off anyway and wracked my brains trying to visualize the course profile. I knew the last 10 miles were practically all downhill. The next section had a few big hills but they were short and on a dirt road so it wasn’t too bad. I could see several runners spread out ahead of me. The temperature had picked up again and I was starting to feel a lot better. I slowly began to convince myself that climb up the ski hill must indeed have been the last trip to 10,000ft. But it wasn’t until the next aid station at mile 42.8 that I knew for sure I was done with the uphill. Hooray!!!! This next section was awesome. If I’m allowed to say that after 40 miles on the go! But it was truly beautiful and I was feeling stronger with each step. It is amazing how quickly my mood had changed. 50 miles can be one hell of an emotional roller coaster. We had a mile of nice soft trail through some woods but mostly it was out in the open on rocky terrain, quite similar to sections of the Moab race last year. The guy behind me (chatted to him at the finish - Aaron from CO) was catching me but I didn’t really mind. I’d passed him earlier so I figured he was allowed to pass me back! If he’d been a girl it might have been a different story. Just was I was thinking that I spotted a girl up ahead and immediately sped up – seriously I don’t even think I processed the thought but my legs just picked it up. Turns out she was a 50K runner but I had discovered my legs had some juice left so I kept it up… I found that I was running all the little uphills that a few hours earlier I would have walked without question. This really motivated me and before long we were descending into the canyon. I decided to take another gel at this stage with about 4 miles to go. Just in case. Along here a guy who I’d passed way back flew by me – what a super finish he had! It is so cool to see people having fun like that at the end. Though if I hadn’t been feeling good myself I guess I might have looked at it in a different way…

It was getting very hot again now so I stopped to pull off my long sleeve. And to take in the view. But not for long. I decided no one else was going to pass me! A few minutes later I was running through the floor of the canyon along some sandy trails – just as well I was nearly done as sand is my least favourite running surface. I passed a guy here and soon arrived at the last aid station at 48.1 miles – to the sound of U2’s “Beautiful Day” – there is nothing quite like that song to get you in the mood for a good finish! Not to mention the great volunteers – like at all of the aid stations they were friendly, helpful and fun. Myself, the guy I’d just passed and Aaron all left the aid station together and started out on an uphill. Once it flattened out I took off again and the guy told me I’d finish in under 13hrs. Ohmigod. I realized I hadn’t been thinking about my time for the past several miles. I was just so glad to be enjoying myself again. No stopping me now. It amazes me as I write this but I practically bounced up a few of the little climbs as we wound our way back onto the start of the course that we’d covered in the dark earlier that morning. Just as I was coming up to the tunnel which ran under the road at about 1 mile to go I saw Olga up ahead. Part of me didn’t want to pass her but she was full of encouragement and after a quick exchange of words I continued on. I think I passed one more guy after that and soon started to see the houses up on the hill to the right. I got a little confused in this section as it looked nothing like it had in the dark that morning! After a moment of panic I spotted the chalk markings and knew I was okay as I emerged out onto the gravel road, a hundred yards or so and there was the finish line. The glorious finish line. What a day. 12:49:18.

I’m not sure I ever want to repeat some of the experiences I had that day but knowing I can feel so low at one point and a few hours later run as strong as I’m ever likely to at the end of an ultra is one heck of a confidence booster. Olga finished a few minutes later. I loved chatting to her and hearing about her vast résumé of ultras. More and more to put on the calendar. Short term memory or what! I chatted to Brian and Theresa from Colorado who finished either side of me. I tried to eat a bit but didn’t have much of an appetite (don’t worry it came back with a vengeance later). The guys from aid station 6 were there and as soon as they spotted me asked if I’d lost a glove - I couldn’t believe it when one of them pulled my glove out of his pocket. Now that’s what I call service! I told him I’d dumped the other one but that I’d keep this one as a souvenir.

It was so much fun relaxing in the warm sunshine chatting with everyone I'd met along the way and sharing stories. I couldn’t stop smiling. Especially after I checked out the results posting a little while later and saw I’d finished 4th! Very cool - I’d totally lost track by the end and just thought I was somewhere in the top ten. I probably went into this event over-raced and under-trained. But I emerged feeling stronger and more in love with trail running than I can describe in words.

*All pics on this page are courtesy of Olga.