May 12, 2013 · 9:19 pm

2013 Ice Age 50k

Ten, nine, eight, seven… that was race director Jeff’s countdown to the start of the Ice Age 50k on Saturday. Two, one…go! And we were off into the woods. I wasn’t originally planning on racing Ice Age this year, but when registration opened in December and looked like it was going to fill in less than a day I made a last minute decision to sign up. There were lots of reasons why I shouldn’t. This is an Ironman year, I should be focused on biking, yada yada. Truth is, I needed to focus on a run first. After sitting out much of 2012 due to injury, I wanted some good time on my feet before I had to start focusing on the bike. I’ve made it no secret that I have a rocky relationship with being on two wheels, pedaling and pedaling all.day.long. I would rather be on two feet any day of the week. I figured the race would be good motivation to get my butt in gear over the winter.

Only it didn’t work that way. I struggled to find the motivation I needed. I am going to blame it on the longest and crappiest winter in the history of ever. Between snow and ice and bitter cold, I had a hard time getting out there. Last year I ran the trails all winter in preparation for my 50 miler at Ice Age. Every weekend I looked forward to hitting the trails for hours and hours. This year it was not to be. I was also struggling with how much I should be running. Every time my foot would get a little sore I used it as an excuse to take a day off. I knew I also needed to be swimming and biking, but wasn’t sure how to balance it all. After all, Ironman is the big race this year, I could run 50k in my sleep if I had to…Right?

But the truth is, when you lose all of your running fitness due to injury, you cannot expect to start running again and pick up where you left off. Last spring, I would think nothing of running 70 miles a week. A 25 mile trail run seemed like no big deal, same with running twice a day several times a week. Cue the frustration when a “mere” 10-12 miles felt hard and I looked back at what I was doing last year thinking I should be able to do this, with a little bit of shit, I was crazy back then! mixed in. It’s funny how endurance sports can skew your perspective on things. Sometimes I am shocked when I look back on my training logs for Ironman and see how much I was doing. It all seems so normal when you are actually doing it, but looking back at it from the outside it is easy to see why people think you have lost your damn mind. Needless to say, my confidence was waning. If I couldn’t find the motivation to train for a 50k, how in the heck was I going to train for Ironman?

I came to the decision that the best thing for me to do was to work with a coach. Best decision ever. Though I create training plans for other people all of the time, I lost the trust and ability to do it for myself. I needed someone with an outside perspective to tell me exactly what to do and when to do it. I needed to get out of my own head and not have to think about any of it. Not to mention the accountability factor. If I am paying someone to tell me what to do I am damn well going to do what she says.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a race report? Ok, back to the race. In the 8 weeks leading up to Ice Age, I did a mix of running, biking and swimming. Definitely less running and more biking and swimming than I would have done if left to my own devices, but quite a bit of overall volume (compared to what I was doing at the beginning of the year). I had some good long runs under my belt, but certainly not as many trail miles as I would have liked. The weather just didn’t cooperate for it. I felt prepared going in, and when the first few miles felt effortless, I thought I was going to have a great day out there.

Coming up to the first turnaround at mile 6.5, I counted that I was in 5th place for women. I concentrated on running easy and keeping the effort low. The first out and back section is tough, with lots of hills and uneven single track. I just focused on my nutrition plan and walking the big hills to save energy. By the time the first out and back section was over, I had passed two more women and was running in 3rd place.

The latter part of the race is made up of two identical 9 mile loops where the trails are much wider and easier to run on. I got a little boost when I passed through the start/finish area and saw some of my friends cheering me on. I was able to pick up some speed on the flat miles that followed, and I was feeling good. That good feeling lasted until I reached the back side of the loop and it’s relentless hills. By the time I hit mile 16, my quads were hurting. By mile 18 they were toast. I started to break things into small sections. The next aid station. The start/finish area. The flat miles. I tried not to think about the fact that I still had to do this entire loop again. I didn’t know if my legs would hold up. I did know that it was going to hurt.

Coming through the start/finish again, I stripped off my arm warmers and left them at the aid station. I saw some more friends cheering for me which gave me a little boost, but in my head I was struggling. My quads were absolutely killing me. I was grateful for the next couple of flat miles before I got into the hills again. I broke the rest of the race into 30 and 40 minute increments. When I would take my next salt cap and when I would eat my next gel. Then to the final aid station, then to the finish. Somewhere in there I thought I passed another women from the 50k. It was hard to tell because now we were mixed in with the half marathon runners. Turns out I did pass one woman, but another woman (whom I had passed early in the race) passed me as well, as I would find out later.

The hills were killing me. The downhills were almost worse than the uphills because of my trashed quads. It was time to think about putting one foot in front of the other, of doing nothing besides moving forward. One thing I have learned over the years is that no matter how much it hurts during a race, no matter how slowly the miles tick by, and no matter how much your body is telling you to stop, there is always an end. And when that end comes and you are finished, no matter how good or bad the race was, it always seems that the day has flown by. I always think about this when the going gets tough, that there is indeed an end, and it will come soon enough. I will not hurt forever, so I might as well keep moving.

So that is exactly what I did for the rest of the race. And sure enough, the end came.

It is always sort of surreal when you train hard, race hard, and it is over.

I have no idea why I am smiling in this picture. I think I was so relieved that it was over, and in a bit of disbelief over how much my legs actually hurt. Mostly I was just so happy to be done. I can’t remember a race where my quads hurt that bad, except for perhaps my first or second marathon ever. Certainly not during the 50 miler last year or during any Ironman. But that’s how it goes. All you can do in any given race is give it all that you have on that particular day. You can follow your race plan and take in your fuel and do everything right, and sometimes your legs just freaking hurt. I did everything I could, I gave it all that I had, and this time it was good for 3rd place overall, 2nd in AG.

I would find out later that 2nd place was a mere 34 seconds ahead of me. My mind immediately went to thinking about all of the places in the course of 31 miles where I could have shaved off 34 seconds. A few less seconds walking on some of the hills, a little speedier on the flats. But the truth is, I gave it my best effort, and if I could have shaved off those seconds I would have. I am proud that I was able to push through the pain in my legs and finish strong.

Special thanks to my friend Cindy for bringing a cold water foot soak to the finish line. You are the best! :)

Ice Age 50k Official Result:

5:01:47

3rd overall

2nd female 30-39

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March 18, 2013 · 10:28 am

GLM 10k Winter Running Series

All winter long I have been participating in a 10k running series put on by Great Lakes Multisport. I thought it would be a good way to work on my speed over the winter, whilst forcing me into the great outdoors during the most dreaded time of the year. As an added bonus, if you register for all of the races you get a free hoodie, and I am all about free stuff. There were six races in all, and you’re about to hear about every last one. Warning: this could get a little long, though I have a terrible memory (thanks mom!) and probably cannot recount too many details of each race. So here goes.

Race #1 – Welcome to Winter – 11/11/12

Though this race was called “Welcome to Winter,” there were unseasonable warm temperatures, I believe around 60 degrees. I also believe that was the last time the words “unseasonably warm” have been uttered this side of the equator. Here is the little report I wrote on Daily Mile, which really says all there is to say:

This could have more aptly been titled: “crash and burn – the story of how not to run a 10k.” I thought I could probably run around 7:00 pace today if I started out smart. I did not start out smart. Here’s what happened:
Mile 1 – 6:44 – darn it, way too fast. I was running right behind the woman that won the race, who looked like she was just out for a casual jog. But I felt good. Maybe this won’t be so bad.
Mile 2 – 7:06 – darn it, too slow. That’s ok, I can still average 7′s
Mile 3 – 7:15 – ok seriously? And now I have to do the whole dang thing again?? It is so hot out. I am overheating.
Mile 4 – 7:18 – This sucks. The wind sucks. I hate running.
Mile 5 – 7:27 – I can’t believe I signed up for all 6 races in the series.
Mile 6 – 7:18 – Well, at least it wasn’t last mile slowest.
Last .2 – 6:44 pace – Ok, I finished like I started, only now it feels like a sprint.

So there you have it. Positive splits on a flat (albeit really windy) course. My goal for the next race will be to start out easier so I am not dying by mile 3. I think I was 6th overall female and 1st in my age group, so I am really happy about that. And more importantly, now I have a better idea of where I am at and a starting block to improve upon!

Yup, that was a rough start to the series, but things could only get better from there, right?

Official Result: 44:09, 6th OA female, 1st place AG

Race #2 – Elf Run – 11/25/12

The Elf Run went a lot better for me than W2W. The only bummer was that the course ended up being quite short, my Garmin measured it at right around six miles.

I still started out a little too fast, but overall my splits were much more even and I did not run each mile slower than the last. Improvement.

Official Result: 41:41, 8th OA female, 1st place AG

Race #3 – Run Into the New Year – 12/31/12

RINY is the biggest of all of the winter series races. It is held at noon on NYE, and always draws quite the crowd. My friend Cara was running this race as well, so I knew I was in for a little friendly competition. We ran together for the first 3 miles or so, and I always felt like I was just behind her, trying to keep up.

Then somehow I ended up running a 6:37 forth mile, and I pulled ahead. This is kind of a hard course for a 10k because there are several million turns. It’s hard to get a good fast rhythm because any time you pick up speed, you have to make a turn. Still, this ended up being my best race of the series, with mile splits of 6:51, 6:44, 6:49, 6:37, 6:54, 6:48, and 6:29 pace for the last .35 miles (yes, my Garmin had this course a little long, which isn’t surprising with all of the turns. Apparently I do not run the tangents well). Now THAT is how to correctly pace a 10k. We are making progress.

Official Result: 42:54, 6th OA female, 1st place AG

Race #4 – Expo Run – 1/27/13

The Expo Run seemed to be the smallest out of all of the races. It was an out and back course on a bike path which was nice, as it was the only 10k course that was not simply 2 loops of the 5k course. It was another cold nasty day, and the course had a couple of snow-covered bridges to make things interesting. I ran a pretty smart and even race here, with all of my miles in the 6:50’s.

I knew I was running in 3rd place and thought maybe I could catch the woman in purple at the end. I gave it my all, but just didn’t have it in me. I was still super-proud of my 3rd place overall finish.

Official Result: 42:43, 3rd OA female

Race #5 – Big Chill Run – 2/17/13

By the time the Big Chill Run came around, I was so sick of 10k’s, and I was so sick of winter. Still am. I went into this one with a crappy attitude and little motivation. It didn’t help that the course was the same one as Welcome to Winter, which as you may recall didn’t pan out too well for me.

I know that picture is all hey, I am so happy to be out here running in the frigid cold and look what a great race I am having!! I was either faking or hallucinating, one of the two. I passed a woman right at the half way point to put myself in 3rd, but she somehow managed to pass me back around mile 4.5. When it happened, I seriously could not have cared less. I don’t know what was wrong with me. Physically I know I could have pushed it and ended back in 3rd, but I just didn’t want to. It was really stupid. Also, another short course of 6 miles instead of 6.2. This time I was happy about it.

After this race I remember having a conversation with my friend Cammie in which we complained about winter (standard) and hoped that the last race would bring with it some nicer weather. After all we deserved it after suffering through all of these freezing cold-ass races. Right? Right??

Official Result – 42:03, 4th OA female, 1st place AG

Race #6 – Luck ‘O the Irish 15k – 3/16/13

So that brings us to St. Patty’s Day weekend. If you are still reading, congratulations for making it this far, we are almost done.

When I saw the forecast for this weekend I was pissed. Like legitimately angry. Cold, wind, and snow. It’s not fair, can’t we just have nice weather for one day? Please?? Wah. I needed to do a long run on the day of this race, so I decided to switch to the 15k distance that was offered and run a 5 mile “warm up” before hand. I knew that no matter what happened in the 10k, I could not change my overall standing in the series, and to be honest I threw up in my mouth a little when I thought about running yet another 10k. So I got there nice and early, switched my registration to the 15k, and headed out for my easy five miles. The roads were covered in a wonderful layer of icy snow, which was awesome. I really loved it.

I had about 20 mins in between my warm up and the race, so I went inside, used the facilities, ate a gel, and hung out with some friends. I did NOT in any way shape or form want to go back outside and run more, but I really had no choice. I look nice and pissed (and cold) at the beginning of the race.

This race had the most ridiculous course. It was 4 “loops” back and forth on the same road. One end of said road had a giant hill. It had an 8% grade on the shorter side and a 7% grade on the looooonnng side. That’s according to the street signs, I did not actually have tools with me to measure the grade. So we went up and over that hill 4 times. If you are keeping up with my math here, that is a total of 8 big hills over the course of 9.3 miles. Also, there was a nasty headwind for half of the course. I loved turning into it every time. At least it was a great workout. I pushed the pace, but was not “racing” at an all out effort.

I’m not sure what I was looking at coming into the finish, probably the warm building that I couldn’t wait to be inside of. I finished the race with an average pace of 7:51, which I was happy with given the course. I did a short cool down jog to round out my day at 15 miles.

Official Result: 1:13:05, 3rd OA female

Closing thoughts on the series

I ended the series with enough points to claim 3rd place female overall. For this honor I won a plate and a beach towel.

I am proud of how I did in the series, and overall I am glad I signed up. It was a way to keep me running fast at least six times this winter. I just wish it could have been nice out for one or two races. But come on, this is Wisconsin. The entry fee was affordable (I think it was $120 for all of the races) and I got a long sleeve shirt for each race, plus a super-cozy hoodie for running them all.

On the negative side, two of the courses were woefully short, though the race management insisted this was not the case and that everyone’s GPS watches must have been wrong. The courses are not certified, so I can’t complain too much. Plus, when you are racing for series standings (rather than a PR), it doesn’t really matter because everyone you are racing against is running the same course. The other negative is that by the end I was so incredibly sick of running 10k’s. As I mentioned, all of the courses (except one) were a double loop of the 5k. Also, it was pretty much always the same people racing, which is cool on one hand because you know who you’re up against, but it was all getting a little bit tired by the end. Obviously that is my own issue and has nothing to do with the races themselves.

So will I do this series again? Probably not. Next year I will likely just run a couple of them for fun instead of being locked into every race. Or who knows, maybe I will try my hand at the 5k series to really test my speed!

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February 20, 2013 · 6:00 am

3 degrees of trail running

A few weeks back (before I was completely and totally over winter) I was craving a good trail run. There was exactly one morning that week that I could squeeze it in, and it was 3 degrees outside.

Proof:

I briefly contemplated hopping on the treadmill, but I wanted to trail run. Bad. So I geared up and got out there before I could change my mind. Turns out if you wear the right gear, the cold ain’t so bad.

Ready to go:

And at the half way point of my 7 mile run:

Yes, that is frozen breath on my neck fleece. I always like to see what other people are wearing on their runs, you know so I can add to my wish list. So here’s what I wore in case you’re into that sort of thing:

The North Face Winter Warm Tights

These tights are thicker than a basic tight, and are fleecy on the inside. Once I got going, my legs weren’t cold at all.

I had three layers on the top. The innermost layer was a thin Nike base layer that I have had for years. Next was The North Face Impulse 1/4 Zip Top.

I love this shirt either over a base layer or as an only layer when the temps are 40 or above. And my jacket is The North Face Animagi Jacket:

This is the best running jacket I have ever owned. It’s really light, but the core is insulated and it keeps me shockingly warm as my body temp heats up.

Accessories: I wore a fleece neck warmer that I’ve had for years and originally bought for snowboarding. I also wore these winter runners gloves that you can convert from mittens to gloves as your hands heat up.

I also wore two thin running hats and my trusty yaktrax to help with footing in the snow.

Now, you are probably thinking what the heck is with all of the NF gear, do you work for them or something? Well yes, yes I do. It’s one of the several part time jobs that I currently have to get me through school. And lucky me was able to get all of these things at a steep discount. That said, I will tell you while I love the pants, shirt, and mittens, it is the jacket that I would probably say is worth the retail price. I usually only need to wear one shirt under the jacket, and added the extra one only because it was below 10 degrees.

So while it was stupidly cold and it took me as long to get dressed for this run as it took me to actually run it, it was worth it once I found myself in the woods up close and personal with these guys.

Believe it or not, once I got going I didn’t feel cold at all. It goes to show that with the right gear you can be comfortable no matter the conditions. That said, this past week I reached my breaking point with winter weather, and have lost all motivation to brave the nastiness any more. Last night it was 10 degrees and windy, and I chose spin class over a group run. I am counting the days until the clocks leap ahead and we get an extra hour of daylight in the evening. To me that means spring is coming for real. 18 and counting…

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February 18, 2013 · 7:40 pm

Oh heyyyyyy!!!

Hi there! So. I’ve been thinking lately about how I haven’t posted here since…um…well, last year. Hello 2013! I’ve also had several requests to resume blogging, you know, from the four or so people that read this thing. So here I am. Hi! Truth is, I have a lot going on. What’s new? The other truth is, so much has happened that I really don’t know where to start.

But I realized something. I don’t have to do a play by play of the last three months for you. The bits and pieces will come up as they come up, and that’s all there is to it. The most major thing I’ve had going on (and the main reason things have been crazy and I’ve had no time for extra curricular activities such as updating this dear old blog) is I started going to school for massage therapy late last September. I Love it. Yes, capital L. But it has also meant that I have been juggling several different part time jobs all while trying to maintain some semblance of a training schedule. Not easy people, not easy.

But the month of February has provided some much needed down time with a reduced work schedule. I have actually had time to do things like cook food and map out a training plan. I even cleaned a little the other day and read the first chapter of a book. Like a real live fiction novel, not Anatomy and Physiology or Business Mastery.  Whether or not I started on chapter 2 is beside the point.

So what is the point? Yeah, I was starting to wonder that myself. The point is, here I am! I am not going to sit here and promise that I will have a new post comin’ atcha  every day, but I have actually been missing my little corner of the interwebs where I can ramble and show you embarrassing photos of myself making out with a tub of peanut butter pretzels. So what I’m trying to say is I’m back! And in the most awkward segue ever, look at these pretty pictures of winter running!

Christmas day trail run at Lapham Peak:

And a winter wonderland run in my neighborhood the morning after a snowstorm:

Oh winter, you are so beautiful and I hate you so much.

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November 4, 2012 · 8:21 am

Tyranena Beer Run

A while back, Steve and I signed up for the Tyranena Beer Run. I had always wanted to do this race, as I heard it was a fun way to end the season. The race is held at the Tyranena Brewery in Lake Mills, and offers a 1/2 Barrel and 1/6 Barrel distance. The finish line offers a free lasagna dinner (meat or veggie) and free Tyranena beer. Need I say more?

I hadn’t run a half marathon since my PR at Icebreaker in January, and I wasn’t sure what to expect out of my legs. I was hoping that if everything felt good, I could run around 1:40, or 7:38 pace. However, I haven’t been doing any speed work, and I hadn’t run more than 10 miles since a September trail run. I also had heard that the course was fairly hilly. As a secondary goal, I thought if I could keep the miles under 8:00 that would be ok too.

We lined up for the 11:30am start, and it was chilly, around 35 degrees. I decided to just wear a long sleeve shirt and no vest, which turned out to be the right decision. After the national anthem played, we were off. I ran the first mile in 7:24 and worried that I started too fast, although it felt pretty comfortable. The course was great, winding through the neighborhood before continuing along the shore of Rock Lake. There were definitely some hills in the first 4 miles, but overall not as bad as I was thinking.

The miles were ticking by, and for the most part I was holding 7:25-7:35 miles. The course continues onto the Glacial Drumlin Trail, which was not only pretty, but the crushed gravel surface was nice to run on too. Somewhere around mile 8 I felt things starting to break down. I was about to crash, hard. I quickly took my Double Expresso Clif Shot and washed it down with some water at the next aid station. Mile 9 turned out to be my slowest at 7:47, but a few minutes after I took my gel I felt some energy start to creep back in and was back to 7:30 pace for miles 10-11.

Then it was time to hang on for the last 2 miles. I was really tired, and I wanted to slow down badly. I focused on a few women up ahead which helped me to keep pushing. I passed a couple of them within the last two miles, and I knew I couldn’t back down. Before I knew it, we were rounding the corner towards the finish. I gave it a kick to the finish line and crossed in 1:39:04, or 7:34 pace. I am really happy with the result given the amount of training I have been doing. Or not doing. I also realized that I had fueled the night before with two margaritas, chips & guacamole, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Um…oops? I guess I should be glad I wasn’t running for the port-o-potty during the race.

Official Results:
1:39:04

7:34 average pace

98/877 overall

13/480 females

6/117 age group

Afterwards we hung out with friends while drinking beer and eating lasagna. I can’t think of anything much better than that. This was a super-fun race with a great course and I will be back next year for sure to end the season right!

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October 25, 2012 · 6:49 pm

2012 Door County Fall 50

This past weekend marked the second year in a row for Team Beer Chasers at the Door Co Fall 50. Last year, we did the 50 miles as a 3-person relay. This year, we added on two speedsters, Cara and Mike. We now had a pretty darn fast 5-person relay team, and expectations were high for a sub 6 hour finish.

Our start time was 1oam, so we got to sleep in a little compared to most races. We made the drive up to Gills Rock for the start, picked up our race packet, and got ready to go.

We snapped a team photo,

And then Cara was off on the first leg.

She got us off to a great start before handing off to Mike for leg 2. The day was already moving right along when Mike came in and handed off to James.

I was up next for my favorite leg through Peninsula State Park. The fall colors were beautiful in the park, and it was shaping up to be a gorgeous day.

Despite stomach problems, I managed my 5.5 mile leg in 7:09 pace. Not too bad, I finally feel like I am getting some of my speed back after a long recovery process. I handed off to Steve and we were almost half way done already. I was originally supposed to run leg 7, which would have given me only 8 miles to recover between my legs. Given the condition of my stomach, I asked James to switch with me so I could rest until leg 9, which would only be 3.1 miles. The day continued to fly by and before I knew it, Cara was barreling in to the finish of leg 8 and it was my turn again.

I took off fast on leg 9, and luckily my stomach was feeling better. I ran as fast as I thought I could hold and my first mile was 6:57. I started to slow down slightly on the second mile, and during my last mile I caught up to another woman who’s team had started 2 hours earlier than us. I thought she would be an easy pass, but as I came up next to her she sped up. She talked to me the rest of the way and pushed me to the finish by basically yelling at me to keep up with her. I gave it my all and ended my leg with a 6:59 average pace. I wanted to thank her for pushing me, but she took off to run leg 10 as well!

Now it was up to Steve to bring us in to the finish. I knew a sub 6 hour finish would be tight, and I was a little worried because Steve had a big blister forming on one of his feet. I hoped it wouldn’t slow him down. The rest of the team went to park at the finish, and then we waited for Steve to come in. We could see runners turn in about a quarter mile from the finish, and we were anxious to see him. With several minutes to spare, we saw him speed around the corner and run towards us like he was on a mission. I knew we had it, and as we all ran it in as a team, Steve didn’t slow down and I could barely keep up. We finished in 5:57:29, a 7:09 average pace. We were 15/373 total teams, and 8/196 in the mixed open division. There were some seriously speedy teams this year.

Afterwards we hung out with some friends who had also run at the post race party where they served free beer and pizza.

And by free beer, I mean lots of beer.

It was all very gangsta.’

Yep, we are total freaks.

In the best way possible of course :-)

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October 11, 2012 · 7:21 pm

Colorama 10k

I have mentioned before on the blog that the Lapham Peak Colorama 10k is my favorite race of the year. It’s on my “home trail,” it’s usually great fall weather, and with the hills it hurts in a way no other race I’ve done can quite match. This was my fifth year in a row running this race, and after coming in 2nd place in 2009, 2010, and 2011, I knew I probably didn’t have a chance for 4 in a row. I am still making what feels like a slow come back from my injury, and my speed just isn’t there yet. I was hoping to be within 2 minutes or so of my blazing 44:19 from last year, but I knew it was a stretch.

As soon as the race started I knew I felt off. I actually wasn’t feeling quite right the night before, but I wrote it off as having a busy and tiring week. My legs felt totally fine, but my energy was nowhere to be found. I was having a lot of trouble breathing the cold air, and I felt like I was slogging up every hill. I took off in front, but one woman passed me within the first five minutes, and I knew soon after that I would not catch her.

I did my best to hold a decent pace, but I was hurting. Shockingly, no other women passed me, and my time of 47:47 was good for 2nd place. Again. I know I am being hard on myself and I shouldn’t expect to have my speed back already, but I can’t help thinking that if I could have run within 2 minutes of last year’s time like I wanted, I would have won. This would have been my year. I realize that 2nd place is still pretty awesome, but one of these years I WILL win this race and receive a winner’s plaque instead of an age group medal.

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