Every Run an Adventure

100 Mile National Championship at Jackpot

2020-02-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

First a little catch-up is due. After my 48 hour race last year I signed up for the wait-list for the Kettle 100 and thought I had little chance of getting in, but they did work their way through that list and I was able to run. After finally having a good 100 mile trail run at Mines of Spain in 2018 I felt a higher confidence going into this race. It ended up being a rainy race with sloppy trails, but that also brought cooler temperatures than normal and I finished with a time of 16:17 and first overall. This time was good enough to be the 4th best all-time in the 25 year history of the race.

Kendra kept the kiddos out there until the finish!

Next I had a focus on training for the 24 hour race at Six Days in the Dome. And then in July on a night after a hard weekend of training I was playing basketball in the basement with my son and something happened in my foot causing instant sharp pains. Ultimately I had an MRI and they could not pin point the problem but I was between crutches and a walking boot for a few weeks. I was only able to volunteer at the dome and afterwards started over with my running. Having been so inactive for about six weeks my fitness was awful. I started with 1 mile runs at the end of August and worked up to 13 miles by the end of 4 weeks. By the end of October I was back up to marathon training runs on the weekend with only slight tightness in my foot.

At this point I decided on running the 48 hour at Six Days in the Dome in August 2020. So I thought our annual trip to the Jackpot Running Festival would be a good opportunity to really focus on setting a good 100 mile PR at the USATF National Championship. My 100 mile races up to this point had all been hilly trail races or contained within a longer timed race. Since I ran 16:17 at Kettle on those sloppy trails I really thought that running under 15 hours should be attainable on the relatively easy course at Jackpot for the national championship. It is flatter and has better footing than the normal loop at Jackpot. It is also only 1.17 miles long to make aid very easy.

Training went went very well. I had a streak of 8 straight weekends with a long run of 40 miles or longer and the body was feeling great. Weather for several of those runs was less than stellar, but I figured running through snow and slush should only make fast conditions feel easier. I tried my best to keep a large portion of my training runs around the 8:40 pace that I wanted to start the race at. I once again did a stretch of a strict keto diet for six weeks leading into the race to get into efficient fat burning mode.

We arrived in Las Vegas to stay with the brother and sister in law on Wednesday evening though the race was not until Friday. I wish I always had the luxury of a full day to relax before every race, it was so nice. I picked up some grocery items, filled up some bottles with Tailwind, placed a bet at the sports book, and rested. There was also a lot less preparation than my 48 hour race the previous year, I was hoping to be out there less than 1/3 of that time.

On race morning as the sun rose the temperatures became comfortable in the mid to high forties. There was minimal wind and sunny skies. It was perfect conditions for the start. It seems like those poor showgirls have to always have a hand on their head holding onto their feathers, but that was not the case today.

Anybody who has read my Jackpot blog entries before knew this picture was coming.

As much as I wanted to start right off at my 8:40 pace, I ran 8:11 for the first mile while really trying to slow down. Almost half of the field was ahead of me after a mile. I was able to only slow down to 8:15-8:20 pace while still feeling efficient so I settled in at that pace. I was drinking 4 oz of Tailwind every two laps that were mixed so that I would get my desired calories per hour. I keep it low since I prep for burning fat. Even before 10:00 AM I also was taking a bottle of UCAN hydrate on the non-Tailwind lap to get some additional fluids since it was gradually warming up to what would top out in the mid-60s with sunny skies. This is a hot day to a Wisconsin boy in the middle of February.

Everything felt amazing and I was starting to worry about being so far ahead of pace. Going into the race there were three very elite runners entered into the race and then a good handful of runners with results closer to mine. I knew if those three runners had good races that I had very little chance to compete with them since their best times were 2-4 hours better than mine. I was somewhere around 35 miles when one of the elites dropped. This bumped me up to 4th place at that time and 3rd place was within a couple hundred yards of me. I would be lying if I said this did not inject a bit of adrenaline with the chance to finish top 3 at the National Championship.

At exactly the half way point I caught up to Dan who was in 3rd and passed him. My 50 mile time was 6:57:35 which comes out to 8:21 per mile (8:14 or so on my watch due to inevitable weaving around folks and Garmin inaccuracies). This is the 3rd fastest 50 mile I have ever run. My body still felt amazing and I was finding myself naturally speeding up a tad which only added to my concern that I could blow up. But since everything felt so good I just kept chugging along at the pace. At this point first place was 4+ laps in front of me and second place was 2+ laps in front of me so I just wanted to focus on myself and crank out as many of these laps as possible while I felt so good.

I barely ever broke stride in this race. I had only two bathroom breaks and one stop to have my wife spray me down with sunscreen mid-day. I had gallon jugs of drink mix that my crew was refilling and handing to me as I passed so I never had to fill a bottle myself. My stomach stayed 100% content with just the Tailwind and no calorie electrolyte mix so I did not have to contend with the worries of attempting to eat and digest food which I view as a huge advantage. As the sun began to set I decreased the amount of electrolyte drink and eventually returned to only Tailwind every two laps.

My niece and nephew spent a large part of the day out there playing and helping. They were awesome.

Some time around mile 77 or so I caught up to Jacob Jackson who was now two laps ahead of me. My body somehow still felt pretty good so I decided this was the time to test if I could really summon some special power and increase the pace. Jacob stayed with me as I increased the pace under 8:00 per mile eventually down around 7:30 per mile as we reached the 80 mile mark. By 84 miles it was clear that Jacob was too strong for me to drop and I was on a trajectory to head too far into the red zone this far from the finish so I backed it up back over 8:00 per mile. Eventually I paid for my speed up as a couple of miles in the mid-90s dropped over 8:45 pace as I was pretty deep in the suffer zone by now, but I kept pushing and was able to run the last couple of miles quickly. I finished third overall in the National Championship race with a time of 13:52:39. That is a pace of 8:20 per mile for 100 miles. My second 50 miles took 6:54:23, three minutes and twelve seconds faster than the first 50 that I was sure I ran too fast.

Still processing at this point that I just ran so much faster than planned.

It wouldn't be a complete blog post of mine without some sort of graph. There were 85 laps in the race so I split the race into 17 5 lap chunks to show how my pace changed over the race. It was pretty darn steady through the first 60 laps until I started to speed up and then paid a bit during laps 76-80 for that choice. But overall, I am very happy with the pacing. If I had not tried speeding up I would not have known if I missed out on an opportunity to go for second place.

Final Thoughts

This was a great race, possibly my best to this point. It really expands my thoughts on what I thought was possible for my body. I ran in a very competitive race and hung pretty close to some of the top runners in the country. Based on ultrarunning.com only 9 North Americans ran a 100 mile under 14 hours in 2019 and I am now in that list for 2020.

Things that went well:

Pacing

Even though it was not as planned, I was very consistent based on what my body was telling me and even late when I was in the suffer zone I did not allow myself to blow up. Based on my Garmin data every mile split was under 9:00, even the three with bathroom breaks or sunscreen application.

Feet

I have transitioned back from pre-taping to just loading up with vaseline on my toes and I had no real blisters or hot spots. I also had no pain related to my injury from last year.

Nutrition and Hydration

The slow trickle of Tailwind worked nicely after my keto training and I did not have to eat anything during the race. I added enough UCAN hydrate to the mix when it was sunny and a bit warmer to keep all systems running smooth without getting too dehydrated and only needing two bathroom stops.

Time to Relax

It was so nice to have down time the day before the race. I cannot afford vacation time to do this every race, but it was awesome. I also had 1.5 days after the race which afforded me the luxury of going back and volunteering at the aid station for the last 6 hours of the other races early Sunday morning which was a lot of fun.

Things to do differently:

Make Crews Job Easier

I have never before done a short loop race where I am asking my crew to alternate different drinks. I should have had different bottles for them to make it clear which one I needed based on what I had the previous lap. This is especially helpful when young children are involved and grabbing bottles from the table in excitement :)

What is Next?

Overall my body is recovering well and I should be back running in some capacity a week or so after the race. I had a very hard time sleeping the first two nights after the race as my legs were just radiating pain when left motionless for a couple hours. I felt pretty good right away when walking around.

In August I am making my second attempt at running 48 hours at Six Days in the Dome. To allow plenty of time to lead into that race I wanted to find an early spring race and have decided to run in the Big Hill Bonk Wisconsin Backyard Ultra. This race format sounds like a lot of fun where you have to run a 4.1667 mile loop every hour until only one runner is able to finish a loop. I am looking forward to something different.

Once again, I owe thank you's out to those that spend their time supporting my running habit. Kendra was out there all but the first hour of the race getting me what I needed every lap and Abbe spent most of the day out there as well along with a combination of her kiddos and Bryan cheering for me. Those cheers go farther than you realize sometimes. And thank you Nancy for watching our children, including one with the flu, while we ventured across the country.

2019 Jackpot Running Festival 48 Hour

2019-03-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

Last year when planning my fall race I really wanted to do something new. I have been enjoying longer and slower running much more over the past year than the "shorter" ultras so I was intrigued by races longer than the 100 mile or 24 hour. I had set my eyes on the 150 or 200 mile at Tbunk, but quickly realized I would miss my daughter's entire 5th birthday weekend so that was out. I ended up doing a 100 mile trail race and finally put together a really good one. I however was left with the feeling that I wanted something longer. So I decided to sign up for the 48 hour race at the Jackpot Running Festival in Las Vegas that I have ran an event at three consecutive years now.

The Jackpot Running Festival has become one of my favorite races for a few reasons:

1) We have family in Vegas that I love to get to see and makes it easier to convince my wife to do a "Runcation" when she gets to visit her sister :)
2) Race director Ken Rubeli puts on a great race that is well organized.
3) Temperatures are generally in my preferred range of 40-70.
4) The USATF 100 Mile National Championship is run at this event so you get to see some top athletes competing.

The course is a 2.5 mile loop with an advertised 126 feet of elevation gain. There is one "main" hill, but it does have some other rises along the loop that you feel if you attempt to run them as time goes on. Much of it is paved and the rest is gravel and one short section more like a rocky single track.

Going into this race I felt very good in regards to my training. I was doing a 50+ mile run most weekends alternating a weekend at cruising pace (just under 9:00 per mile) with a weekend at or near race pacing. For race pacing I started from the beginning of each run walking a percentage. While a little lower in training, I wanted to walk at least one third of the race right from the beginning.

I also once again did a 6 week keto diet to get my body in a fat burning rhythm and increase my efficiency at it. It also helped drop that extra holiday weight. Even on pre-race night I just had some chicken, broccoli, almonds, and a bit of 86% dark chocolate for dessert.

Customary picture with Elvis and the Showgirls

As the race started I believe the temps were in the mid to high 40s, which felt great compared to the negative temps I have been training in. Based on where the hills are on the loop I started with my run/walk strategy each 2.5 mile loop:

Run Mile 0 -> Mile .4
Walk Mile .4 -> Mile .6
Run Mile .6 -> Mile 1.2
Walk Mile 1.2 -> Mile 1.5
Run Mile 1.5 -> Mile 2.1
Walk Mile 2.1 -> Mile 2.25
Run Mile 2.25 -> 2.4
Walk Mile 2.4 -> Mile 2.5

My goal was to keep my pace around 11:00 per mile average between my running and walking at the beginning of the race. Then as the race goes on allow both my running and walking pace to slow to what feels comfortable. My first couple of laps were a bit fast around 10:30 per mile average, but then I was able to get back to my expected 11:00 per mile average. I mixed up Tailwind in a dispensing jug and filled my 8 oz bottle each lap which was plenty for these lower temperatures. Not long after the race started my wife Kendra, sister-in-law Abbe, nephew Max, and Niece Emma all came to watch/crew me.

My crew handing me a bottle each lap

As the day progressed the wind picked up and then into the night it got colder and some rain started to fall. Even though the wind advisory ended at midnight it sure felt windy later than that. From a running perspective though nothing had changed for me besides how many clothes I was wearing. I was still walking the same segments and running at around the same pace. For the first day of the race two runners were in front of me, Andrew Glaze and Phillip Espinoza. During the early part of the first night I had taken the lead. Later I found out that Andrew had to leave for a family emergency, but Phillip was still out there and moving well. I was the first to hit 100 miles at 18:47 into the race. That was a bit quicker than my plan of closer to 20 hours, but everything felt great still so I kept with the same pacing/walking routine. Finally in the early morning hours the rain and wind subsided.

Running for a bit with Phillip

On day two at 8:00 am the rest of the races began and there was all of a sudden a lot of activity on the course once again. There were some fast runners in the 100 mile USATF national championship as well as the 6 hour race speeding around. I just kept at my same pacing I had been doing. I covered 126 miles in the first 24 hours which was once again a bit further than the 120 I planned for, but my body still felt good. My lead was 20 miles at this point so I was completely focused on my own race. The wind came back again for a bit but eventually day two turned into a nice day, at least based on my Wisconsin standards in February.

In terms of nutrition I did not drink or eat anything other than Tailwind for the first 100 miles. When I passed the aid station at 97.5 miles I requested a grilled cheese sandwich after my next lap. So when I finished 100 miles I had a celebratory half of a grilled cheese. It was magnificent. From that point forward I grabbed a snack from the aid station each loop aiming to get about 75 calories each time. Most laps I was eating 3/4 of a creme sandwich cookie or a vanilla wafer. When the egg burritos made an appearance they were also amazing. For the last few hours of the morning I had switched to Bai coconut water and then once it was daylight and Kendra returned I switched to VegaSport Hydrator which is a very low calorie electrolyte beverage to complement my mostly sugary snacks.

The daylight hours of day two went pretty smooth. While it started taking a bit more energy to get going after each walk break, I was still keeping similar pacing. I had slightly changed my walking spots to ensure I was walking everything that resembled a hill and it also broke up the running and walking into even smaller pieces while still keeping roughly 2/3 running. My brother-in-law Bryan came out to watch with the kids again and Kendra and Abbe were there a large portion of the day. I am glad it was a nicer day without the heavy wind for spectators.

Trying to just keep an easy steady pace.

As the daylight left us and the second night started I had 180 miles in the first 34 1/2 hours of the race. That is an average of 11:30 per mile through 180 miles. And at this point the legs started to become really heavy. After slogging out 4 more laps to bring me to 190 at just under 17 minute pace I decided to try taking my first rest. I was hoping it would rejuvenate me a bit so that when Kendra and Abbe came back around midnight that I could knock out some more miles. Through the first 37+ hours I had not sat other than three shoe changes. So I went to the heated tent, laid down on a cot, and set my alarm for 30 minutes. In a laying position my knees were now in a huge amount of pain. I just laid there squirming in pain until I finally fell asleep with 5 or 10 minutes left before my alarm. When it went off I tried to fall back asleep, but I couldn't so I decided to get up and back at it. So I had stopped for about 50 minutes total and only managed 5-10 minutes of sleep and my legs were now VERY tight. Ugh.

I hobbled around that first lap at snail pace and then started to loosen up enough to at least manage a decent walking pace on my second lap back. But my knees, especially the left one, were on fire now. They were so tight and so sore I was worried about doing damage. At this point Kendra and Abbe returned with a hot breakfast sandwich for me and I was very happy to have one of them accompany me on each lap.

My beautiful wife and a hot breakfast sandwich. Now which was I happier to see? :)

We walked a couple of laps at around 20:00 per mile to finish out 200 miles at 41:38 into the race, but this pace was getting hard to hold at this point. So half-way through the next lap at my aid area I decided to try elevating my legs for ten minutes in the car to see if it helps. This time I fell asleep instantly in the warm car. Ten minutes later I awoke, put the shoes back on and started hobbling to finish out the lap. After moving a bit my legs were able to walk with less pain but by the time I got back to the car on my next lap they were back to the same condition of inability to keep moving forward. So I took another 10 minute break.

Abbe providing me some company while hobbling some late laps and eating breakfast burritos.

After this break I managed two laps of walking. Then I took one last break before getting three final laps to bring my total miles to 215 as the clock approached 48 hours. That is 8 marathons plus a bonus 5.4 miles!

Let's look at some numbers.

Lap Times

I was expecting to gradually start slowing my pace as early as 12 hours into the race. But I really just stayed steady through about 36 hours. And then things fell apart a bit. While my pace through 180 miles was 11:30 per mile, over the last 35 miles I averaged roughly 22:40 per mile (including breaks). Ouch.

Approximate Marathon Splits

I really feel like the graph of marathon splits tells the story. I was consistent all race until the last 10 hours.

Overall I am very happy with my race. I had in my head that 200 miles would be a successful first attempt at 48 hours and I was able to exceed that number. Will I be attempting 48 hours again someday? Most likely. What will I do different next time? That is difficult with only one data point. If I would have just slept a solid 3-4 hours at the beginning of night two could I have come back with more in my legs? Not sure. If I would have walked even more from the beginning could I have maintained my pacing the entire 48 hours? Again, not sure. I will not be doing it again this year so I have some time to think about it.

Things that went well:
1) Hydration / Nutrition - No issues. There was a couple laps on the second day where it got sunny and heated up. I did not use the restroom for 4 laps so I drank extra electrolyte drink and I think it caused an imbalance, my head became foggy. I backed off the drink the next couple laps and all returned to normal. Other than that, everything went perfect with no stomach issues.
2) Walk/Run Strategy - I really think alternating walking and running at short intervals preserved my legs for much longer than if I was just running at a slower pace. I felt WAY more fresh than I normally do with 126 miles covered in 24 hours.

Things that did not go well:
1) The last 10 hours things fell apart. I was able to keep moving for the most part, but it was slow.
2) My big toes were destroyed. I had changed my socks and shoes three times each, but when the race was over I discovered my big toes had massive blisters. On the right big toe there was as much blister as toe sticking out from my normal pre-race taping. I will need to play around with my taping method. This did not slow me down during the race, but quite painful afterwards.

Finishing up this report 12 days after the race my right big toe is still shades of purple as it continues to heal and I have a bit of stiffness in my knees still, but hope to get back at it here in the next couple days.

What is next? I'll stay closer to home for my spring race. I was planning to probably run the Kettle 100, but it is under new race management and filled up in three days this year. I am #65 on the waiting list so I needed to look for something else. There are a few other local races so I can make sure my body recovers and then sign up for the next one. In August I am running the 24 hour race at the Six Days in the Dome. It should be an ideal chance to finally set a new 24 hour PR since it is controlled conditions inside the Pettit National Ice Center.

Thank you once again to Kendra, Abbe, Bryan, Max, and Emma for coming out to support me at this long race and to Nancy for watching our kids for five days just so I can go run a few laps around a park.

Running Through 2018

2019-01-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

2018 has been a great year for my running so I felt the need to update my stagnant blog before starting another year of racing. Prior to this year the most miles I have ever run in a year was 1800 in 2016. This year I ran 3169 miles. The past few years I have felt that I needed to keep down my mileage between long runs on the weekend for my body to feel up to the next run. The main reason for this was my plantar faciitis. This year I switched back to running in Hokas and added an orthotic (Tread Labs) to help combat my overpronation. This combination seemed to do the trick and I was able to recover from long runs MUCH faster and put in more miles. And I can sure tell on race day that extra training miles really helps me keep moving at a good pace late in races.

Jackpot Running Festival 12 Hour Race - February 17 2018 - Las Vegas

I spend a lot of time training and making a plan for my ultra marathons. Then during the race more often than not at some point things fall apart for one reason or another and I need to make major adjustments to my original plan. At the Jackpot 12 Hour Run this year no major adjustments were needed.

Eleven of the twelve weekends leading into the race I went for a long run of a marathon or longer culminating with a double marathon three weeks before my race. I ran that double marathon at 8:34 minutes per mile which was faster than my goal race pace and it felt great.

I had some tiered goals for the race. First, the prior course record was 69 miles. At this race there was a cash prize if you win and set the course record, so this could be a minimum to fall back to if the race did not go to plan. My previous best at 12 hours was 76.88, so I wanted to surpass that total. Next, 78.6 miles marks 3 marathons. And my reach goal was 80 miles, which is a round number and a qualifier for Desert Solstice if I am interested in racing it in the future. I wanted to make an effort to not start too fast since I knew my training run at a bit faster pace should leave my body in good shape a couple of marathons into it.

Once again, Elvis and the showgirls were there to kick off the race.

Most races start at the same time, marathon, 50 miles, 100 miles, 6 hour, 12 hour, and 24 hour. There is a 48 hour that starts the day before. I focused on keeping my pace down but still started plenty fast with miles around 8:30 - 8:45. There were plenty of runners going faster, but I did not know which race most of them were in and I felt good that if I stayed on my 80 mile pace that I had a good chance of finishing ahead of folks in my race.

About 15 miles in I could feel some rubbing on my pinky toe where I had taped it to prevent blisters. I have done this most weeks for my long training runs, but today it did not stick for some reason. It had already started to develop a blister so I took it off which made it feel better. I continued running my miles between 8:25 - 8:50 pace and everything continued to feel great. I drank a bottle of tailwind every 2.5 mile lap and I felt spot on with nutrition the entire day. I did not take a single bite of anything over the 12 hours.

Somewhere around 40 miles I did have a first for a race, I got a nosebleed. So I ran half a lap holding a napkin on my nose. If that is the most eventful part of my race I consider that a success. Later Bryan, Abbe, Max, and Emma all came for a while to cheer for me. Just like last year it was awesome seeing some family out there and I had Abbe do some jobs for me, thanks again!

As I started reaching 60-70 miles into the race it did start to require more effort to run the same pace I had been going up to that point, but it was manageable. At 73 miles I even got to run a quarter mile or so with Jon Olsen (2013 24 hour world champion) who was running the 100 mile at this race and was three laps ahead of me. This gave me a boost for a couple of laps and then I was able to hold things together through the end at sub 9:00 pace. I finished with a total of 81 miles which surpassed my goals and also got me the win and a course record with a $250 prize to cover part of my trip!

Overall I did a much better job at keeping a consistent pace than most of my races. Every mile on my Garmin was between 8:18 and 9:01, and that includes my minimal downtime. I only sat the one time at 15 miles to fix my tape. I also paused to get bottles out of my cooler every three laps after getting through the first 12 or so I set out. My Garmin showed 11:54:51 of moving time out of the 11:57:35. So I had less than three minutes of stopped timed. My marathon splits were pretty even:

Marathon 1: 3:43:05
Marathon 2: 3:45:08
Marathon 3: 3:49:16

When I sat down my body realized what happened and it locked up. One giant cramp. When I took off my socks I also realized the damage done to that pinky toe that had rubbed earlier, one huge blood blister.

Things that went well

Pacing: Every mile within 45 seconds of one another is the best I have done at a race of this distance.

Minimizing Stops: Less than three minutes of downtime is very good for me.

Taping Big Toes: I had problems in training with blisters on my big toes, but my taping method worked well.

Nutrition: Did not even have to think about it. Just grab a pre-mixed bottle each lap. No Solid food.

Things that did not go well

Pinky Toe Taping: Somehow I ended up destroying a toe that usually has minimal issues.

Bloody Nose: Not sure I can do anything to prevent this, not that big of an issue.

Sunburn: I was fried in select areas. I applied sunscreen three times but I rushed it. An extra 10-15 seconds each application would have been a good use of time.

Corn Belt Running Club 24 Hour - May 5 - Eldridge, IA

My 24 hour personal best is from 2014 and I wanted a good chance to surpass that and really push my limits to see what is possible for me in this event. This race is in lane 2 on a 400m high school track and at the beginning of May which is typically ideal temperatures for running.

Leading into this race my mileage was higher than ever and the body was feeling great. I had put in a run of 40 miles or longer 6 of the 7 weekends leading into my taper week for the race. I had never had a streak like this before with the body feeling so good. I even had my first 100 mile training week.

While most people think the idea of running on a track for 24 hours is boring, I disagree. While I love trail running, think about being 20 hours into a race with these options:

1) Being in the dark woods on a trail and you have not seen another person for the last hour.
2) Being on a lit track seeing everyone you have been racing with for the past 20 hours.

Before the race the forecast kept calling for higher than usual temperatures, which I knew would not help. At the start of the race it was perfect, but would rise to the upper 70s. That may not sound too hot, but when most of my long runs for training were between 25-40 degrees, it can make a big difference.

My table that I would have access to every quarter mile.

When the race started I settled into a pace right around 9:00 per mile. Things were feeling good and smooth as expected. I hit the marathon mark (103.75 laps) at around 3 hours and 58 minutes. By now it had already heated up though. Upper 70s and sunny with no shade on our oval. Kendra was at the track with me and she was doing the most work she ever has at a race for me. She was giving me a hat freshly dunked in water every couple of laps and another bottle to drink every 8 laps or so. I kept my pace even and hit the double marathon mark of 52.4 miles (207.5 laps) at 7 hours and 59 minutes. So my second marathon was only 3 minutes slower than my first. I took a 3 minute break to change shoes and lubricate my toes before starting marathon number three.

Tossing bottles into my bucket for my wonderful crew (wife) to refill.

At this point it felt natural to run at a pace closer to 9:20-9:45 so I slowed down a bit. After another 10 miles or so however my stomach started to become uneasy and my head was getting woozy. I knew my hydration was out of balance from the heat. Salt was not tasting good so I thought I needed to get some plain water in me. After half walking some laps while drinking by lap 299 I could barely stand up because my head was spinning. I figured at this point I had evaluated my situation incorrectly and needed to get some electrolytes in me. I got some chips and my electrolyte drink and things started to feel better gradually. It took 31 minutes to cover two laps during this time.

Now I had ability to move, but my stomach was pleading me not to. So I got moving alternating running and running to just keep moving forward. I eventually hit the 3rd marathon mark of 78.6 miles at 13 hours and 14 minutes into the race. This marathon took 5 hours and 15 minutes to complete. I continued at this point alternating running and walking while eating chips and pizza. My pace was not fast by any means.

At 19 hours and 27 minutes I finally finished my fourth marathon (104.8 miles). At this point my body slowly started to feel better as then sun had been gone for a long time and I think my electrolyte levels were getting closer to normal. I would run some quicker laps sprinkled in until around 22 hours into the race when I really started to feel better. At this point my legs were way more fresh than they should be due to my other issues so I managed to keep sub 9:00 average pace for the last 11 miles. Here is the pace of my last 5 miles:

8:51

8:34

8:05

7:18

6:35

Through everything I did manage to finish with 128.3 miles which is only 5 miles short of my personal best. This was good enough for first overall at the race, I was not the only one affected by the heat. While this was not my best race, I felt like I had toughed it out as best I could and learned a good amount in the process.

Post-Race with my Excellent Crew Chief

Things that went well

Legs seemed to be in very good shape

No blisters on feet

Things that did not go well

Hydration

Reacting to hydration needs incorrectly

How would my race had gone if I knew from the start that I needed more electrolytes? I will not know until I get into a similar race situation. But I will learn and move on. A special thanks goes out to Kendra for all her help at this race and also to the race staff for the race. They were great in attempting to revive me in this race.

Ahnapee Summer Solstice 50 Mile - June 23 - Luxemburg, WI

Kendra and the kids were heading out of town for the weekend so I did what any dad with a weekend to himself would do... Find an ultramarathon to run! With just the one weekend I did not have much to choose from, but luckily there was a 50 miler just north of Green Bay that looked like a good option. It was only the second year offering an ultra marathon with the larger relay event, though the entire race is very small.

I was excited to speed up my training a bit and focus on a shorter race compared to my 12 hour and then 24 hour training. I got in a couple of relatively quicker marathons (3:20 and 3:18) and then a couple 50k runs (3:51 and 3:45) and felt ready to get a big PR on this flat course that is located on an old rail bed. My current PR was 6:47 on a hilly course in the Kettle Moraine, so I figured 6:30 or under should be doable.

At the start of the race my legs just felt like concrete. This usually subsides when I get loosened up 15 miles or so into my runs, but with the quicker pace they never loosened up. I held onto 7:30 pace through 35 miles leap frogging back and forth with the first place relay team. But then things quickly deteriorated. My legs started cramping. I would run as far as I could at about 9:00 pace until my legs cramped and then walked until they got back to a point where I could run again. 3 of my miles ended up over 10:00 during this stretch. I held it together just enough to squeak by with a 50 mile PR of 6:45, an average just over 8:00 per mile. I know I was capable of something faster, but this just was not my day. Since there were only three runners in the 50 mile this was good enough for my third first overall finish of the year.

Mines of Spain 100 Mile - October 17 - Dubuque, IA

After a less successful attempt at a short race I was ready to slow down and increase the mileage once again. As the years pass I seem to just enjoy the slower longer miles more and I think my body actually reacts better as well when not pushing the pace. A really good result at a 100 mile trail race had eluded me through my first few attempts, so I decided to sign up for the inaugural Mines of Spain 100 mile in Dubuque. Don't let the fact that it is in Iowa fool you, the race has five 20.2 mile loops that include a total of 14,000 feet of both elevation gain and loss.

Training for the race went very well as it did all year. I went for a long run between a marathon to a double marathon every week until the last weekend before the race. I focused my weekday runs on the Ice Age Trail while keeping most of my long runs on flatter roads and trails. I also did a three week strict low carb high fat diet leading into the race so that I could start the race in full fat burning mode.

The course is beautiful at this race. But this year was a very wet year in the region and the creeks that feed the mighty Mississippi River were overflowing across the trail in a few spots. I was anticipating ankle deep water in spots, but at the beginning of the race we were told those levels were now higher. So we had some decent water crossings, more to come on the later. It was drizzling at the start and I believe it was in the low 50s or high 40s, so people were eager to get the race started.

On the first loop we ran around the monument to get the view of the river.

Right from the beginning I walked all steep hills. My focus was on a consistent moderate effort. There are plenty of hills, so I got some good walk breaks once we were into the Mines of Spain recreation area. Several other runners were ahead of me at the start, but I was purely focused on my pacing. Most of my miles were over 9:00 per mile pace even at the start. The course was very muddy, which did help keep my pace down. Then during mile 15 I entered what I thought was "the water section". It was probably just over ankle deep at this point in two 20 yard sections. I had to pass back through it a mile later on my return. Then shortly after I realized I had not yet reached the water. The water was actually knee deep and slowly rising with the rain.

The creek and trail had become one.

I made it through and the feet seemed to dry decently well within a few miles. I was glad I chose my medium weight merino wool socks for today, they dry well and still provide some warmth when damp. By the end of the first loop I had moved up to second place just a few minutes behind first. I filled up my Tailwind bottle and immediately left for my second twenty mile loop just ahead of the other lead runner. He passed me on the downhill section of paved trail at the beginning. The second loop went smoothly for me, I moved into first place about 6 miles into the loop. I continued to walk all steep hills while running the flats and downhills. When I got back to the wet section the water was a bit higher. Lap three was smooth as well until I once again got back to the wet section and this time it was now half way between my knee and hips.

I felt bad for runners with shorter legs since this cold water could not have felt great on parts I kept above water.

I am not sure how wet these other sections are most years, but I expect these are normally smaller.

The rest of the race is pretty boring to write about. I drank Tailwind, walked hills, and kept trucking along at a fairly even pace through all five laps. This is the longest race where I have managed to stay so consistent with no nutrition or hydration issues whatsoever. I finished in 17 hours and 45 minutes. Second place was 22 hours and 38 minutes. My previous best effort through three 100 mile trail race attempts was 23 hours and 47 minutes.

Lap breakdown
Lap 1 - 3:27:45
Lap 2 - 3:31:46
Lap 3 - 3:35:13
Lap 4 - 3:40:58
Lap 5 - 3:29:38

My average pace was 10:33 per mile which considering the course condition and all the water is a very good 100 mile pace for me. I credit getting a lot more miles on my legs this year and also being able to rely on fat to power my race. I consumed less than 2000 calories of Tailwind during the race and no food. This seems to be the best formula to keep my stomach happy.

Things that went well

Nutrition - Stomach was 100% the whole race. No food consumed.

Hydration - The cooler temps help, but my head was clear and stomach happy the whole race.

Feet - Even though being soaked all day, my feet were in good shape. Just one very small blister. My merino wool socks once again were a great option for a wet day.

Pacing - My fastest lap had an average pace of 10:17 per mile. My slowest lap had an average pace of 10:56 per mile. My last lap was my second fastest lap (really the same when you subtract filling my bottle at the beginning of it).

Things that did not go well

Nothing. Maybe I could have gone slightly faster on lap 4 when I was still holding back to prevent from running out of steam at the end of the race. Really though, this was likely the best race I have ever ran.

2018 Statistics

A couple of my races were smaller, but I ended the year with 4 first overall finishes and three course records. More importantly though, I had two out of four races that went exactly to plan. Before this year I had zero races over 50 miles that went exactly to plan.

Over the course of the year I had 46 unique runs of a marathon or further. The only weeks I did not go for a run of at least a marathon were the weeks immediately before and after a race. A couple weeks I ran more than one marathon. 23 of those runs were 40 miles or further. If a 52.4 mile run counts as two marathons then I ran 57 marathons this year.

Keeping it consistent, a slower overall pace, and keeping my feet happy should hopefully be something I can build on in years to come.

What's Next?

Well, since I have had some success I decided to sign up for something I am more likely to struggle with. In February I am returning to the Jackpot Running Festival to do the 48 hour run this time. The longest time I have spent racing is 28 hours, so this will present some new challenges and I am ready for a learning experience. I am focusing on a long miles and even some practice walking since that will be a big part of the race. I also just started a 44 day low carb high fat diet to really get prepared for the caloric demands of this race.

I also signed up for the 24 hour race at the 6 days in the dome in Milwaukee in August. Some of the nation's best runners will be running the 6 day race there and it will be ideal conditions guaranteed in the Pettit Center for another shot at setting a 24 hour PR.

I am sure I will find another couple races to fill in the year, likely on trails.

More Ups and More Downs

2018-02-10T06:35:00.001-08:00

Another year of ultra racing and another years of ups and down within races and throughout the year.

TBunk Endurance Challenge 50 Mile - November 5 2016

Last November (2016, I am awful at Blogging on time) I ran the 50 mile trail run at TBunk Endurance Challenge in the Kettle Moraine State Forest. I have run a handful of races on these trails and I am very familiar with them. From the start I was in the front of the race and this is probably the most boring race to write about since everything actually went as close to plan as it can in an ultra. There are 5 loops of 9.2 miles and then a last shorter loop of 3.66 miles to round out the 50 miles. With 150 calories of Tailwind each loop my laps were fairly steady.

Lap 1: 1:13:30
Lap 2: 1:12:55
Lap 3: 1:13:46
Lap 4: 1:13:58
Lap 5: 1:16:06
Short Lap 6: 35:46
Total: 6:46:01

This was only the third year of the race and my time was about 35 minutes faster than the prior course record. The short lap was not yet marked when I started it and I took a slight incorrect turn adding about a half mile extra by the time I realized it and backtracked, but everything else in the race went very smooth.

Jackpot Ultra Running Festival 24 Hour - February 18 2017

I wanted to have something to train for in the winter and since we have family in Las Vegas I signed up for a 24 hour run located in the area. The race is held at a park that has a 2.38 mile trail loop that is relatively flat and located about 30 minutes from my sister in law's place.

It can't be an event in Las Vegas without the Showgirls.

Training was interesting. I wanted to do some indoor running so that I was not doing all my training in sub 20 degree temperatures so I did my long runs on our treadmill. While I have historically avoided treadmill running at just about any cost, it was nice to have some time to catch up on sports. My longest run was an 8 hour double marathon treadmill run where using DVR I watched Roger Federer defeat Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams defeat her sister Venus in the Australian Open finals as well as an entire NBA game and a couple other shows.

One change is I started to wear Hoka One One shoes during this training. For anybody who has not tried them, they have a "rocker" shape and motion that makes your foot roll very easy and they also have a very thick sole with maximum cushion. Using these shoes I found that I had much less pain due to plantar fasciitis, but I did get some additional blisters on my toes. I decided to stick with these shoes for this training block and see how they work out.

As the race approached we realized for the second consecutive trip for us to Las Vegas (in November and now February) it was going to be warmer in Madison while we were in Vegas. The temperature for the race was in the low fifties and it rained for a large portion of the race. I don't mind a little rain and the cool temperature, but it rained enough that a part of the course that runs across an overflow channel into the park's reservoir had to be routed on the path over the culvert. This added two hills per lap which would really add up...

It is not supposed to be this wet in Las Vegas

The early laps of the race went smooth despite the rain as I settled in at around 9:00-9:30 pace.Thirty miles into the race the runner that had more impressive prior results than I left the course which left be in the front of the race. By about 50 miles in I was still feeling great and was building a decent lead so I decided today was a good day to go all-in and see what was possible. At the 12 hour mark I had already covered 75 miles. I had not changed shoes yet and the outside of my foot was really starting to hurt so I stopped and tried switching to my Altras. That only lasted a lap (2.5 miles) and I then tried my tried and true Asics. I ran\walked five miles in those and then switched back to a different pair of Hokas that I stayed with the rest of the way.

At this point things really slowed down. My aggressive pace had taken its toll and it was clear it would be a bit more of a struggle from here on out. After a 75 mile first 12 hours I managed 40 miles over the last 12 hours. There was a lot of walking. Kendra did the last 15 miles with me that were mostly walking with occasional jogging. I was really having to push myself to keep moving those last few hours and I was very glad to have Kendra there with me.

It was also great seeing Abbe and my nephew Max out on the course. It is nice doing a race where we can see family as well.

I think I could have ran more miles with a more even effort approach, but I really wanted to see with how well my training went what my limit really was. I still have a lot to learn about the 24 hour races and thought this was a fun race and good experience.

Ice Age Trail 50k - May 13 2017

After taking a couple weeks primarily off I shifted to starting to speed things up a little and start training for the IAT 50k. Training went well I was up to running trail marathons each weekend. I however have a bad habit of jumping down stairs a few at a time and at work on the concrete stairs I caught my foot and turned my ankle... badly. It was one of those with a loud popping sound. It was painful to walk for the next week and when I tried to do a short run one week before the race I made it three painful miles and had to throw in the towel. This race was my 3rd DNS bringing my total to 23 ultra registrations, 20 finishes, and 3 DNS.

Christmas in July 12 Hour - July 15 2017

By late May my ankle was holding up well running on even surfaces and I was able to build my mileage back up. I wanted to look for a summer race that was on even surface and not going to be scorching hot. I found a timed race in the Chicago suburbs called the Christmas in July. They have a 24 hour, 12 hour, 6 hour, and 5k. This race fit my criteria since the races all start on Friday night. Therefore the 12 hour race runs from 11PM to 11AM avoiding the worst heat of a July day.

This is a fun race environment. They have the entire venue decorated for Christmas with lights and inflatables. I got in the spirit and got some lights for my aid table that Kendra helped set up.

The race loop is just under 1 mile with one small hill. I started steady around 8:30 pace and I was able to hold that for the first 60 miles. Then it hit me pretty quickly and my legs started to revolt. I managed to alternate walking and running for the last 2.5 hours. I finished with 76.88 miles which was good enough for 1st place and a course record. I was glad to be done running because it was starting to really heat up.

Hennepin Hundred 50 Mile October 7 2017

Sticking with the theme of running on flat surfaces I decided giving a quick 50 miler a try. I started putting a bit more speed in my workouts and I was running a marathon around 3:15 each weekend. Then on a weekday run at the end of August I was pushing it hard at the end of 10 mile run (around 6:00 pace) and something happened in my left leg. It felt like I strained something in my left hamstring. My next attempt at a run was very painful so I shut it down for a couple of weeks. A couple weeks later it felt OK but I also tried to be very cautious. I managed to get in a couple of semi-long runs so I decided to give the race a try rather than a second DNS this year.

This run is a point to point with the majority of the 50 mile heading south along the Hennepin Canal. Unfortunately, there was a decent wind directly out of the south so we had to fight it most of the race. That combined with my body not really being ready and I started to slow down by mile 18. It was a long slog to drag myself through this race. There was a lot of walking.I finished with a time of 7:56:23 which is a pace of 9:32 per mile. About two minutes slower per mile than my original goal.

What's Next?

After taking some time to recover my training has gone very well in December and January heading into 2018. I am running the 12 hour race at the Jackpot Running Festival this year in Vegas in a next weekend and I feel great going into this race. I think I am in a good position to improve on my 12 hour this last summer and go for 80 miles. In May I am signed up to run another 24 hour race on a 400m track. We will see what I do from there, but I may take it easy on the speed work for a while. Maybe I am just getting too old for that...

I will try to report back with a Jackpot report in a couple weeks, but we will see.

Summer Racing

2016-08-24T04:10:00.000-07:00

I have never ran more than two ultramarathons in a year (not counting training runs). This year I did three in the span of three months.

Kettle Moraine 100 Mile

On June 4th, 2011 I ran my first 100 miler at the Kettle Moraine 100 . The Kettle 100 is completely on trails with about 8800 feet of elevation gain and loss. That day eclipsed 90 degrees and at 77 miles into the race I spent 3 hours getting sick followed by a 23 mile walk into the finish with a time of 26 hours and 13 minutes.

On June 4th, 2016 I started the same race. This time around I had a lot more experience and my training this year has been great so my expectations were that I could get close to 20 hours with a great race or at a minimum a sub 24 hour finish if things did not go too smooth.

For training this year I stuck once again to running three days a week. Two runs very early in the morning on weekdays of 5-8 miles and then one long run on the weekend. My long run was a marathon or longer for nine consecutive weeks until I went shorter the week before the race. Additionally I half way did my low carb high fat diet throughout my training until I committed 100% to it for the last three weeks.

I have told people that the biggest thing I have learned so far in ultras is managing the high and lows of an ultramarathon since they are inevitable, especially in a race of 100 miles. So I will use a visual to describe this race.

My mental and physical state subjectively plotted on a scale of 1-10 with miles as the series.

At 81 miles I was in fifth place and closing in on fourth place. I finished 32nd after averaging over 26 minutes per mile including breaks over the last 19 miles. My final time was 23 hours and 47 minutes. In hindsight I may have been able to keep pushing, but I did not know what was happening to my body so I decided to shut it down. Racing in temperatures more than 20 degrees hotter than my hottest training run did me in once again. I chalked it up as a learning experience. The doctor guessed that my bladder was so empty that the walls were chafing against each other, I don't recommend that experience.

Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake 50k

My next race I was registered for was the Marquette 50 100k race in August. As I planned my training runs I realized I planned a marathon up at Devil's Lake on July 10th during the Dances with Dirt Devil's Lake race that starts at 5:30 AM. Since it is 45 minutes from my front door the convenience factor was too great to resist so I signed up for the 50k.

During the Kettle Moraine 100 I ran with someone (his name was Jeff) who was running primarily on a sports drink named Tailwind that is supposed to be very easy on the gut. I decided to go ahead and give it a try. It does taste good and I used it for my 50k. It was my third time doing this race and I finished 19 minutes faster than my previous best time and fourth place overall. Most importantly, I ran a good race with consistent effort feeling exhausted at the finish without falling apart towards the end. This is what I needed after the rough finish at Kettle. Nutrition worked well with only Tailwind, but honestly most things work in a 50k for me.

Marquette 50 100k

The Marquette 50 course is the toughest in regards to terrain (footing, not elevation change) that I have ever raced. I knew that going in thanks to some great GoPro YouTube videos out there of the race. My friends Alex and Scott were racing in the 50k so I was excited to see them while getting to race a new course.

The 100k is unique in that it starts at 12:30 AM. It is nice that I could finish closer to the 50k racers that start 5 hours later and for my wonderful family that could sleep through the first half of my race and then still come support me, but it does limit the amount of sleep one can get before the start. I managed to get almost 3 hours of sleep, woke up at 10:45 pm, and had a taxi drop of off in the middle of the woods just before midnight. The cab driver admitted it was not his average job.

For the first 5-6 hours there was a light drizzle here and there, but it was relatively dry as we completed the easier part of the course (relative to the four peaks later). I ran most of the first 22 miles with Matt and then found myself in the front while leaving to start the first of two "big loops" that are 20 miles each and contain four of what I like to call "Michigan Mountains". The first couple in the dark were interesting to navigate, but at least it was dry. Then it started to pour down rain as I approached the peaks known as Top of the World and Hogsback. Hogsback already has sections where you have to use your hands to climb up and in the downpour it gets a bit hazardous so there is no running on these sections. After making it down Hogsback in the rain I was done with my first big loop a couple of miles later and headed out for a second loop in the opposite direction. At this point I saw I had a three mile lead. I had to once again make it cautiously back over the rock covered peaks on the way back, but with tired legs I found myself falling and bloodied several times. When I reached a flat stretch along Lake Superior my legs still felt good and I found myself running 8:30 miles. I once again took my time over the last two peaks and finished with a time of 11:04 in first place overall.

Picture with the race director after the finish.

This is probably the smoothest any ultra has ever gone for me. The only thing I consumed during the race was about 1300 calories of Tailwind and I felt energized and had no stomach issues.My legs were feeling it a bit the last four miles, but I was not at all in a position where I fell apart towards the end. This race leaves me curious as to how far I can go on only this sports drink, I may need to sign up for another long race to test it out...

Since this was only the second year of the 100k at this race and I finished faster than last year's winner I now own a course record! I will say it is the first time I have owned a course record since I don't count an inaugural race when it gets broken the second year.

I need to mention a big thank you to Kendra, Carson, and Kinley for hanging out in the rain and tracking me down to see me a few times during this race despite the conditions. Even when things are going well it is awesome rolling into an aid station and having your family there.

What is Next?

Now that I seem to be recovering well (five days post-race) it is time to start signing up for more races! I will likely do one fall 50k or 50 mile close to home, there are a handful within a couple hours. The next big goal to work towards is a 24 hour race in Febraury... IN LAS VEGAS! It will be slightly different than my training for Tuscobia last winter, but I am excited to try another 24 hour race.

My Best Husky Impression

2016-05-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Now that it has been more than four months since my race and this has been 90% written for a few months it seems about the right time for a blog entry...

On January 9th I did a race very different than anything else I have attempted before. I headed to northern Wisconsin during the coldest time of the year to race 80 miles across a frozen snowmobile trail. The Tuscobia 150 has two distances, 80 miles and 160 miles. This is the first year it was not 75 and 150 so the name has not yet changed. There are three divisions, bike, ski, and run. A race like this has some mandatory gear requirements due to the extreme conditions. The required gear that I carried is:

Big Agnes Hahns Peak SL -20 Sleeping Bag

Big Agnes Air Core Insulated Mummy Sleeping Pad

MSR AC-Bivy

Reflective Vest - I chose one with a large front pocket to hold all my food.

3 Red Blinkies to Deter Snowmobiles from Running You Over

Black Diamond Polar Icon - I like putting the batteries on my back instead of head and four lithium AAs last all night.

Titanium Esbit Stove - The lightest possible stove to melt snow for water in an emergency.

Esbit Tablets

Toaks Titanium 550 mL Pot - Lightest possible pint pot

Stormproof Matches

Lard - You are required to finish with 3000 emergency calories. Most people take a jar of peanut butter. I chose 334 grams of lard since it is the lightest possible 3000 calories.

The required gear keeps you from freezing if you have to stop on the trail. Of course the goal is to keep moving and finish the race. Here is the rest of my gear/clothing:

Northern Sled Works Racing Pulk - The same thing every man asks for on his 30th birthday.
PVC Poles - Homemade with eye bolts on the end caps. Crossed for more control.
Old hip belt - I bought an old pack for $5 at a garage sale years ago and ripped off the belt.

Black Diamond Z Trekking Poles - Helps to keep moving forward with less than ideal footing.

Salomon Skin Pro 3 - This pack fits very compact against my body so it fits nicely on top of my base layer and under my jacket. Wearing this water pack inside my jacket keeps it from freezing.

Generic Fleece Facemask

Smartwool Neck Gaiter - Can rotate it as it freezes up.

Outdoor Research Svalbard Beanie - Has windstopper material around ear band, very warm.

Icebreaker Sprint - I am in love with merino wool as a base layer. There is no other option in my mind.

Marmot DriClime Jacket - My favorite running jacket. It is all I need on top of my base layer down to zero degrees if I am moving well.

Patagonia Nano Air Hoody - This is the best overall jacket I have ever owned. It is a great insulation layer to add when I start slowing down. It is very lightweight and has a great hood.

Westcomb Shift LT Hoody - A hard shell when things get wet or I need extra wind protection. The Neoshell is very comfortable compared to some other materials.

Brooks Running Mittens - I have had these a long time. They have been repaired at least once, but they are warm by themselves down to zero when running a good pace.

Outdoor Research Alti Mitts - The ultimate mittens. Just the Gore-Tex shells are really warm. Add the Primaloft inners and you should have toasty fingers in temperatures well below zero.

Icebreaker Oasis Leggings - Once again merino wool as the baselayer.

Nike Drifit Running Pants - I have had these for ten years.

Marmot Stretch Fleece Pant - Insulation layer to add when it gets cold or I slow down.

The North Face Thermoball Snow Pant - This is the emergency insulation layer if I need it. It results in less mobility though.

Smartwool Ultralight Sock - Merino base layer of course.

RAB VB Socks - Pretty much a plastic bag. It creates a warm and sweaty micro-climate for my feet.

Woolie Boolie - These are the socks I run in year around and I use them as my insulation layer.

Asics GT 1000 3 GTX - The Gore-Tex version of my tried and true running shoes. This keeps my insulation layer dry from the outside while the VB sock keeps it dry from the inside.

Outdoor Research Wrapid Gaiters - Keeps snow from getting to my ankles.

IceSpikes - Ten of these in the bottom of each shoe guarantees no slippage.

Now I can finally get to the start of the race. Most people stay in the town of Rice Lake where the race finishes. At 7:00 AM a bus takes the 80 mile racers to the town of Park Falls. After just over two hours the bus arrives at the start and everyone has time to get organized in the school gym before the 10:00 AM start. At the race start I believe the temperature was in the teens which would be the warmest it got for the race. The race starts for a little stretch through town and you are quickly on the beginning of the Tuscobia snowmobile trail. The trail is groomed and packed down by snowmobiles which makes for a good surface for dragging a sled. The fat tire bikes took off and were out of sight quickly. The few skiers mingled in with the runners. I was averaging 12-13 minute miles while alternating jogging and walking. The first 34 miles went very smooth and I averaged 13:48 over this stretch. At 34.75 miles is the only checkpoint of the 80 mile race and I arrived there around 6:00 PM. Kendra and Carson were there to greet me.

I knew from here on out I would only slow down now that I had been dragging a 21 pound sled for 8 hours and it was already getting colder so I took advantage of the warm building at the checkpoint to put on my Marmot stretch fleece pants under my running pants. I also made sure my nano air hoody was strapped on top of my gear for easy access. I ate a grilled cheese sandwich, refilled my snacks (nutty bars and little frozen wienies), and refilled my water bladder with my VegaSport electrolyte mix. 18 minutes had passed quicker than I realized, but I headed out to take on the remaining 45+ miles.

After getting the body heat back up, my body started to get tired as expected and I started to slow down. The body temperature drops with the lower effort level so I put on my Patagonia Air Hoody and Arctic Mitts with the inners. The temperature outside was dropping quickly and there was also a little breeze. My miles were now between 17 and 20 minutes each. While the mitts were keeping my fingers warm, I was struggling a bit when I had to take them out of the mitts to eat, drink, or adjust clothing. I wish I had put everything on and arranged it nicely while in the building because right now my facemask/neck gaiter/hood were a frozen twisted mess and I did not want to remove my mitts long enough to fix it. I really wanted one more warm place to stop and collect myself. I knew the town of Birchwood was my best bet, but I did not have it in me to get out my phone's map I prepared to check the distance. So I kept trudging along hoping every light in the distance would be Birchwood. As it got later I knew my chances of getting into a building were slim since the pizza place and gas station/convenience store had closed.

After what seemed like an eternity I reached the town of Birchwood after 3:00 AM. When I saw the owner of Paul's Pizza Den waving me towards his restaurant I was beyond excited. There was a 160 mile biker currently stopped there that was having issues keeping his toes warm. The owner proceded to give me a hot chocolate that was heavenly at this point. I took off most of my clothes and rearranged them nicely, tucking them in appropriately and getting everything just right. I drank and ate since I had been avoiding that to keep my hands warm. After about 30 minutes and a big thank you I packed up and headed out again. In the time I was there several others had also stopped there for a break.

Immediately after leaving I felt rejuvenated and put together a few good miles. Then my body remembered exactly what it had been doing for the last 19 hours and once again things slowed down. My back was getting pretty sore, pulling the sled was putting stress on places I do not normally have issues with when running. At this point the wind chill was also approaching negative 30 degrees. These last 16.5 miles were tough. I did not eat or drink anything and just kept moving fast enough not to turn into an icicle. My average pace over this section was around 20:00. The official finish is inside of the KOC hall since nobody wants to sit around outside. I finished with a time of 23:09 which was good for 5th place. 20 of the 36 runners to start the 80 mile finished.

Afterthoughts:
My gear all worked out pretty well. I would like to perfect a way though to eat a few more calories while keeping even my arctic mitts on. This was a new challenge and a way to actually get excited about winter and snow. I learned a lot and there is a lot of room for improvement if I decide to do the race again. I already promised Kendra I will not be doing the 160 next year.

Since I took so long to make this post I am already two weeks out from my next race, the Kettle Moraine 100 mile run on June 4th. Training has gone very well and I will try to get a race report out a little quicker this time.

Marquette and St. Pats

2016-01-12T14:11:00.001-08:00

After the Ice Age Trail 50k in May I felt like I was in excellent condition to have a great year. Eight days later when doing my next long training run (a marathon on the track) I was finishing the run hard at about 6:30 pace 25 miles into it and there was a snap in my left calf muscle. Immediately I could hardly walk. A week later I still was having trouble walking and I found out that I had a tear in my calf muscle.

I was in a walking boot for two weeks. By early July I was starting to go on progressively longer walks for exercise working up to 20 miles by the end of the month, but running was still resulting in pain in my calf. I had already registered for the 100k at the Marquette 50 trail race in mid-August and it was obvious at this point that attempting the race would not be a good idea for my long term goals this year so I recorded my second DNS. This brought my total to 15 ultra registrations resulting in 13 finishes and 2 DNS.

My training since mid-August went very well at a slower pace so I registered for two races this fall/winter. First was the St.Pat's 24 Hour Race in South Bend, Indiana. I was surprised at how well 5 hour training walks (around 14:00 pace) translated to being able to increase my long run mileage much faster than normal. My last five long runs going into the race were 35, 40, 40, 31, and 40 miles around 9:00 pace and they felt pretty good. I was doing minimal running between my long runs since I did not seem to be recovering from those long runs quite as quickly. I knew I was not in as good of shape as I was last year, but good enough to get a race in this year.

In 2014 I had a nice and steady build up to my 24 hour race.

In 2015 I had to reset after my injury in May and had limited training mileage.

There was one area where I did more training than previous years, and that was my nutrition. I have flirted with a lower carb diet in the past, but this year I was much more serious about it. I ate a low carb high fat diet where I kept between 30-50 grams of total carb most days. In the last 2 weeks that dropped to about 10 grams of carb per day. My diet was made up of mostly vegetables, meat, cheese, eggs, and salad dressing. My carbs came from vegetables and beer that I did not give up until the final 2 weeks. I had trained my body to be a much more efficient fat burner in hopes that I could drop my in-race calories to prevent stomach issues. I did still eat my sugary foods on my one long training run per week at the rate of 75 calories per 5 km which was my goal for my race.

The St. Pats 24 hour run is set in South Bend, IN at a county park where we did a 5k loop on trails as many times as possible in the allowed time. It was a relatively cold weekend where the temperature would not reach 50 degrees during the day and the race website posted afterwards that the temperature reached 24 degrees at night. At the start my 5k loops were landing in the 27 minute range which was a little quick, but I knew I had time to settle into my pace closer to 30 minutes per 5k. There was nothing to note through the first 100k (62 miles, 20 laps). Everything to that point was on point. Every lap I had eaten half of a nutty bar. Every fourth lap I drank 2.5 oz of VegaSport Energizer drink while I drank 2.5 oz of VegaSport Hydrator the other laps. These are sports drinks without sugar that I have grown to enjoy since I like having the flexibility to keep up my hydration and electrolytes independent of sugar intake.

This is the point of the race where I started to feel the lower training volume start to impact my race. My laps slowed down quickly and by 100 miles I slowed to a crawl and got cold quickly since I was still just wearing a very thin jacket. I took some time to warm by the fire, got some warmer clothes on, and walked most of the last 20k.

I added some short laps at the end to finish with a total of 115.7 miles. I finished second overall to Shan who completed 124 miles. Overall I was happy with my race. I knew I was slightly under-trained compared to last year, but I was very happy with my nutrition in this race. I consumed a total of 2287 calories during the race which is less than many folk eat on a normal day. I think less is better in terms of keeping my stomach happy when running. I consumed 4023 calories in my 24 hour race last year. Running primarily on fat seemed to keep my stomach in a much happier place. I am curious to see if my legs were in better shape if I could have maintained my pace on the lower calorie intake. Here is the breakdown of my calories:

During the late stages of the race my plantar fasciitis, that had been worse this year than normal, really flared up. My feet were pretty torn up for a couple of weeks. After a couple of weeks I needed to get training again for the winter race that I referenced. I was signed up for the Tuscobia 80 mile race in northern Wisconsin in January. I will make another post with that story.

Snow and the Ice Age

2015-05-13T06:39:00.000-07:00

As normal, in the weeks following my last race of the year in September I look for the next big race. While doing so I came across a couple of races very different than anything I have done before. The Tuscobia Winter Ultra and Arrowhead 135 are ultra marathons in northern Wisconsin and northern Minnesota respectively. They are held in December and January. So they are run on snow and temperatures are often below zero. Tuscobia has 35, 75, and 150 mile options while Arrowhead is 135 miles. After reading many race reports from these races they had piqued my interest.

In these races you are required to carry winter survival gear so that you can be safe if you need to stop for a period of time. Required gear includes a -20 degree sleeping bag, insulated air pad, bivy sac, a stove, and several other items. Most people on foot at these races (you can also bike or ski) pull a sled to hold their gear.

So I upgraded my winter running gear and covered a couple hundred miles this year on the coldest days of the year pulling a 20+ pound sled behind me. I ended the winter doing a 62 mile "run" with my sled. I learned a lot this winter, more to come on this topic next winter season. It was nice for once to actually have a reason to look forward to snow.

My PVC pole and sled contraption that I used this winter.

This is what I look like after a run in below zero temperatures.

As the snow melted I started ramping back up the mileage with a similar approach as last year that worked very well. I built up to 10 miles twice during the week and a run of a marathon or longer each weekend. I ran beat my marathon and 50k PR in training runs without destroying myself and felt really good going into my first race of the year, the Ice Age Trail 50k.

The Ice Age Trail 50k is on some nice and hilly trails in the Kettle Moraine Southern Unit. 266 runners registered for the race, but based on the results the turn out was closer to 200 runners. The course is a 13 mile out and back followed by two 9 mile loops. As the race started it settled down quickly to a few of us out front a couple miles in and I found myself leading the race at 2.5 miles in after the lead runner took a 10 yard detour the wrong direction. I was not pushing it, just keeping around 7:20 pace like I wanted to. At 6.5 miles I hit the turn around and saw that I had about a minute on the two guys behind me. By the time I finished the 13 mile out and back my average pace was 7:15 per mile and I felt great.

The trail is nice and wide for the two loops, and the first 4 miles of that loop are not that hilly. I was cruising on this section without feeling like I was doing anything I would regret later. I had no idea how far back second place was, and I wouldn't until I could see him. The hills on the back side of the loop are steep but they felt manageable. I saw no signs of the guys behind me on that loop. My pace for the 9 mile loop had dropped to 6:56 per mile. At the end of the loop I wouldn't say I was fresh, but I was still feeling good for being 22 miles into a 31 mile race. My son Carson was there ready to hand me a hand bottle as I dropped by hydration pack going into the last nine mile loop.

The kids waiting for me to come around at the finish of my first loop.

The beginning of that last loop once again felt great as it does not have many steep sections. Once that back section arrived I was around a marathon into the race and the legs started cramping. To prevent my body from locking up completely I focused on a consistent effort level which was a bit lighter than what I had been doing. The whole time I am just wondering if someone is going to catch me since I was slowing slightly. One last GU gave me a little boost as I pushed through those last hills and I made it to the finish at 3:43:04 with an overall pace of 7:11 per mile and a first place finish. This race was my fifth trail 50k race and was my best time by 23 minutes.

I am very happy with the result of this race. I think my pacing was good, even though I ran the second 9 mile loop almost four minutes slower than the first loop. I found out after the race that I actually increased my lead by over seven minutes on that last loop. Only 16 of the 195 finishers ran that second loop faster than the first. It is a good thing I did not know about my lead, otherwise it would have been very tempting to slow down. Since this race has a larger and more competitive 50 mile distance it has a great sponsorship from Salomon and I got some sweet prizes for my finish in the 50k which included a new hydration pack, an awesome collapsible hand bottle, and a new pair of shoes.

My legs were in rough shape only for about an hour after the race, then I was walking around just fine which is unusual for me. I am normally a complete mess. This is in line with how much quicker I have recovered from my long training runs this year, I don't know for sure why recovery time has dropped so much for me. I did not have a hobble in my step at any point in the days after my race.

Next up is the 100k at the Marquette 50 Trail Races in August. That looks like some gnarly trail. Devil's Lake is going to get a few more visits from me this summer to get in some major hill and terrain training.

Data from the race:

First 13 miles: 1:34:26, 7:15 per mile
First 9 mile loop: 1:02:25, 6:56 per mile
Second 9 mile loop: 1:06:13, 7:21 per mile
Total 31 miles: 3:43:04, 7:11 per mile

Lead after 6.5 miles: about 1 minute
Lead after 13 miles: 2:07
Lead after 22 miles: 6:11
Lead after 31 miles: 13:25

Food before the race: Plain Bagel, Banana, 4 oz Gatorade
Food during the race: 4 GU, water
Food after the race: Fruit, Heed, Brat, Chips, Cookies, MKE Session Ale (great post race scene)

Official Race Results

Taking Advantage of a Second Chance

2014-10-03T03:28:00.000-07:00

I arrived in Ottawa late Thursday night just after midnight for my second attempt at a 24 hour race. This time I did not have the stomach flu, I was healthy. Since my failed race attempt 4 weeks prior I had done a couple of 40+ mile runs and a two week taper. Everything felt like it was in order this time as I arrived. I spent Friday going to Walmart to get my needed food/supplies and then dividing it into 50-75 calorie portions that I would consume during the race. After eating my traditional pre-race meaty marinara pasta from Pizza Hut I went to the dome where the race is held to pick up my packet.

Picture inside the Louis Riel Dome where the race is held.

I have to say I was a bit concerned when I saw the track, it was not at all like a normal high school track. It seemed much more stiff, but there was no point worrying about that now. I talked to some of the other racers who all knew each other since the Ontario ultra circuit is fairly small. I would know many of them better after spending 24 hours on a track with them!

I woke up on race morning after probably sleeping only 5 hours due to excitement/nervousness. I arrived at the dome plenty early, set up my table and cooler with my goodies, and sat around until 15 minutes before the race. At this point you must meet your lap counter. Yes, a person counts your laps for you. This event is put on by the Sri Chinmoy marathon team and it is an endurance event for counters as well. I had two counters that each did 12 hours. Each lap around the 400 meter track you have to wave, make eye contact, or something to make sure they saw you. We took a picture and then we started. Two minutes later I had seen the entire course.

Everything I hoped I needed to run for 24 hours.

Picture of everyone starting the 24 hour race.

I started at my planned 8:00-8:15 pace while walking one lap every twenty minutes. So I would run two miles and then walk a lap. While walking my goal was to eat 50-75 calories and drink. During this time period I settled into third place, Ian and Victor were in first and second. Both of them were running at a faster pace and also not taking walking breaks so their lead grew quickly. I knew these runners and others had much more impressive prior results than I and it was a long race so I promised to myself not to worry about the standings unless things get interesting towards the end.

They took most of the pictures in the first hour when people were still smiling.

This track is inside the Louis Riel Dome. Unfortunately it was unseasonable warm and sunny so the dome heated up. I heard it reached 76 degrees, which is not too bad, but it was very stuffy. The same as how it feels in a tent on a sunny day with the windows closed. As it heated up my stomach started to turn around 5 hours into the race and I knew I was getting dehydrated. Hours five through seven were not very pleasant and my pace had now slowed to around 9:00 per mile while running much earlier than expected. Hour seven I stopped eating solids and started only drinking Gatorade. This started to turn things around for me and by hour 8 I was feeling good again. I started alternating solid food and Gatorade every twenty minutes. I kept going between 9:00-9:15 pace while running because it is was what felt good at this point. By the 12 hour mark I was at 72.5 miles which was about two miles short of where I expected to be. At 9 hours and 13 minutes Victor stopped since he was no longer on pace for his age group world records that he was attempting. So at this point I was in second place.

This is the leaderboard (in km) they updated very frequently throughout the race.

At hour 12 my stomach once again was not great, but I continued alternating electrolyte drink with solid foods on each of my 20 minute breaks. I had expected to switch to a walk break every 15 minutes at hour 10, but my legs still felt as good as they can after running 70+ miles so I kept up the 20 minute intervals. By 14 hours in both my stomach and legs were feeling the best they had since 4 hours in. I knew there was a good chance I could have been moving very slowly at this point of the race, but instead I had logged 83.5 miles and running 9:00-9:20 pace presented no problems. So I kept clocking out unexpected miles. At the end of 15 hours I was now ahead of my expected distance already and still feeling much better than expected. I wouldn’t say my legs felt exactly fresh, but nothing was preventing me from continuing to run. At 15:18 Ian hit 100 miles and stopped. At this point I was in first place of the people still on the track, though I knew it would be at least a couple hours until I reached 100 miles.

Hours 15 to 18 I kept very steady running around 10:00 pace for 1.5 miles, then walking a lap. During hour 16 I switched from electrolyte drink to Coca-Cola. I was alternating around 8 oz of coke and half a nutty bar at each of my walking breaks. At 17:07 I hit the 100 mile mark and officially was now leading the race. I can’t say I felt good at this point of the race, but better than expected. I was focusing on 20 minutes at a time. Each 20 minute interval is much easier to manage than thinking about 7 more hours of running.

Moving to the top of the leaderboard as I surpass 100 miles.

I slowed a little more during hours 19 and 20. My pace was now between 10:00 and 10:40 per mile. At this point my goal of 120 miles was just about locked up so I had two new motivators. I would be lying if I said at this point I didn’t want to win the race. Galya was in second and he was running at a consistent pace so I knew it would take a good effort over the last five hours to keep the lead. Second, I wanted to try for 131 miles which is five marathons.

For the first 40 minutes of hour 21 I started to slow more now closer to 11:00-11:20 per mile while running with a very slow walk on my walking laps. I think Galya noticed I was slowing and he picked up his pace. My 8 km lead quickly went down to 5 km. At this rate I knew he would catch me quickly so I now dug deep and put together one more hour of running around 10:00 pace for the running portion of each twenty minute interval. This hurt, a lot. By the end of that hour my lead was back up to 6-7 km and Galya seemed to slow now as well. From here on out I just tried to maintain something that resembled a run, but it was not pretty. My “running” laps were now approaching 16:00 per mile. At 23 hours and 22 minutes I hit 131 miles to mark my five marathons. I managed two more miles over the last 38 minutes to finish with a total of 214.18 km. That is 535.5 laps and just over 133 miles. My average pace, including walking, over the 24 hours was 10:49 per mile.

Left of me is Baladev who was third and right of me is Galya who was second.

Four hours after the race I was already going through US customs at the Ottawa airport. I was wondering how it would go since I was stumbling around, dehydrated, and exhausted from sleep deprivation, but there were no problems. I made it home that night where Kendra had my recovery plan already started for me.

Pumpkin Oreos are key to proper recovery from running 24 hours.

The race went much better than I expected. There were a lot of things that went well.

Stomach: While I had my stomach issues, I was able to take corrective actions each time before allowing any of them to really slow me down.

Feet: At the end of the race I only had one very small blister. My strategy of putting on dry socks and shoes every six hours with a new coat of Vaseline on my toes seemed to do the trick.

Legs: My legs held out a lot longer than I thought they would. I do feel like I entered this race in the best shape of my life for a long flat race, but I had no idea my legs would still function at a real running pace 20 hours into the race.

In my first three races that were longer than 50 miles I was not able to meet my original goal, this is the first time that has happened. I feel the biggest reason is just experience and making better adjustments both during training and during the race. I am pretty excited for what I can try to accomplish in the coming years.

The official results can be seen at http://ca.srichinmoyraces.org/node/6973/previous-results/2014.

And now for my favorite part of running a track race, the data. I have every lap time recorded on my Garmin Forerunner 220 that I uploaded into Excel. First is a simple breakdown of my 5 marathons. I was surprised to see that marathon 4 was actually faster than marathon 3. While I obviously slowed down, I was expecting to slow down much sooner and at a more rapid rate.

Next are by calories consumed by food and per hour. I am amazed by how there is a different food at every race that ends up being my go to food. At Leadville it was watermelon and soup. At this race it was coke and nutty bars.

That is 10 of the 12 bars that come in a pack of nutty bars.

This shows the number of miles per hour while only counting completed laps. This is much more consistent than planned or expected.

And the graph I am sure everyone was waiting for, a scatter plot of each lap time with a line for my cumulative average lap time. You can distinctly see my three shoe changes which were the only laps over 6 minutes. There is also a distinction between my walking laps and running laps. The few falling in between were running laps with a bathroom break. That is until the end where things slowed down.

And the last graph show my cumulative average lap time plotted against the expected times I had mapped out before the race for 120, 125, and 131 miles. Once again, I was much more consistent than I thought would be over most of the race.

Aftermath: I was pretty well dehydrated at the end of this race and was not able to eat much until a few hours after it ended. Full meals did not all settle for a couple days. My legs were absolutely destroyed the day I finished the race and the next day, but by the third day my walk was almost normal. Now, five days after the race, I feel like I am mostly recovered for every day purposes.

For the next couple of weeks I will purely rest. Then I want to focus on strengthening surrounding muscles even more than last year before building back up to a high volume of running. I am likely running the 50k in May at the IAT50, but I have no defined plans yet after that. I am sure I will find something. Let the off season begin!

Loss of Control

2014-09-05T03:42:00.001-07:00

Race Report: Badgerland 24 Hour Run 2014

The idea of a 24 hour track race was intriguing partially because it is a situation where I am in much more control and can have a plan rather than being in the mountains for 12 miles between aid stations. Well, the day before my 24 hour race I lost all control by getting the stomach flu. I was not able to eat or drink much on Friday and on Saturday morning I was getting sick before the race even began. I thought it was worth giving it a shot since 24 hours is a long time and I could start to feel better.

By 45 minutes into the race I was already in a very bad place with my stomach. I will spare everyone the details. It took me about 9 hours and 40 minutes to complete a marathon between all the breaks that I was having to take and the severe stomach cramps that now also left my back in a world of pain. The remainder of the 24 hours was walking when able. I slept a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes during the race and did plenty of sitting/laying down. Any attempt at running resulted in an immediate unpleasant situation with my stomach and left me in a worse state. I was able to finally run about 25 minutes when there was about 75 minutes left, but once again it ended abruptly. Some people call ultramarathons eating contests with some running. These events can be brutal on your stomach when starting off at 100%. Starting with the flu is a disaster.

I was able to log 51 miles over 24 hours for an average pace of 28:04 per mile. That is not even as far as I went on my last long training run of 8 hours. I finished in last place, by a good margin. Ultramarathons are about managing the high and lows over the race. This race only had lows and it was tough to manage. Kendra walked with me for many miles and I appreciate that she was there to try and keep me sane. If I knew I would have felt that bad the entire race I would not have started it, but I would have not been happy with myself if I did not try.

I did learn about one large benefit to running on a 400m track for an ultramarathon. You get to know the other racers very well. There were ten people doing the 24 hour run and we became very familiar with each other and you get to watch each other’s races unfold and encourage one another, it is pretty cool. Also, the race staff see you just as often to provide encouragement and support. I was able to watch the event record be broken that had stood for 29 years. Greg ran just under 139 miles and the consistency he had with his pace was incredible. He kept going steady just about the entire time with very little walking. He even ran it wearing sandals!

So what is next? Two days after the race my legs were 100%, the same as a normal weekend workout. I have worked so hard training this year that I want to still do a long race. Unfortunately Kendra has school now and the schedule of a 100 mile or 24 hour race just does not fit in so I will be going by myself. Since I normally rely on Kendra to be the best support crew ever I decided another 24 hour track race would probably be best where I can set up my stuff and access it every 400m. I will be heading to Ottawa to do another 24 hour track race September 27 and 28.

Running by Numbers

2014-08-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

I am a week away from my 24 hour race on a high school track. I have put in 160 hours and 52 minutes this year running 1229 miles while only running three days most weeks. Just over 390 of those miles were on high school tracks. Yes, over 54 hours of running on a track between 11 training runs.

Every weekend since March 22.

I wish I had a count of how many hours I have spent on my race spreadsheet. The spreadsheet includes formula based calculations on different strategies for pacing. I have been using it all year for my track training runs. Now I have printed out, backed in cardboard, and covered in contact paper the pacing that I expect to keep for the first 12 hours as well four variations that I expect could happen the second half of the race.

Example of one pace sheet.

My collection of pace sheets.

The plan is not carry these sheets and run every lap exactly as I have it recorded, but they can let me know where I expected to be at any point of the race and also if I am ahead that I may want to consider slowing down.

My largest adjustment during training was to now walk one lap every 20 minutes instead of every 30 minutes. I have found this keeps my legs much more fresh and it also aids with my nutrition to eat smaller portions every 20 minutes instead of larger amounts every 30 minutes. The goal is 50-75 calories every 20 minutes.

I also learned during training that my best way to handle nutrition is to keep within my calorie goal while eating the foods my body is craving. The foods I have craved from one run to another has changed from golden Oreos to turkey sandwiches to watermelon to York minis. For that reason I will take more than twice the food I could possibly eat to make sure I have enough of the foods that are working for me on that day. The lineup is:

Watermelon
Golden Oreos
Nutter Butters
York Minis
GU
Turkey Sandwiches
Flat Coke
Chicken Broth

All items except the soup will be portioned out into 50-75 calorie servings prior to the race. Even when I can no longer maintain walking only three times per hour I plan to eat three times per hour. This comes out to about 4300 calories consumed during the race. I expect to burn somewhere around 12000 calories so it is important that I have trained my body to burn fat since I will likely go through a couple pounds of it.

There is not much running for me between now and my race. It is time to take it easy and expect a report of how things go in a couple weeks.

Going Nowhere Fast

2014-07-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

My excitement for running has peaked once again so it is once more an opportune time for a new post since my wife has got to be sick of me talking about running.

Last year I struggled through a knee injury that left questions in my head whether I would be able to stay injury free while training for ultra marathons. I was happy with my finish at Leadville given the circumstances, but I had higher goals going into the year. I had started physical therapy last spring (2013) which continued all the way through December. By then I was doing some light running.


Fall 2013 Weekly Distance

This year has progressed gradually without any lasting sharp knee pain like I had last year. I only run three times per week. I built up to 10 miles most Tuesday and Thursday mornings while the family is still sleeping and then a long run very early Saturday morning. My body likes it and it fits my family/work schedule well. My long runs have been great.

20+ Mile Runs This Year

On June 7th I raced at the Yankee Springs Trail Run marathon. It went well and I placed second overall. 3:14 was my best (of 2) trail marathons by 43 minutes.

Starting June 14th I have now switched to focusing on my main race of the year. On August 30th I will be doing a 24 hour track race. In years past when people ask what I am training for and I tell them a 100 mile run in the Kettle Moraine or Rocky Mountains the usual response was "you are crazy". This year that has switched to "won't that be boring?". As much as I love trail running I am intrigued by the 24 hour track race since everything except the weather is a very controlled environment. I am not going 10 miles through the mountains between aid stations, I have access to everything every 1/4 mile.

A few of my recent workouts have been on the track and it is very hard to run slowly when your legs are fresh when on a track. I feel like I am most efficient running 8:00-8:30 pace while fresh. My strategy on those runs has been to walk one lap every 30 minutes which gives me a chance to consume some calories and water. The goal has been 200-240 calories per hour. I am going to try and decrease that a bit and train my body to become more efficient at using available fat instead. I can honestly say that I have not gotten bored at all while running on the track for 6 hours. I find it very peaceful and calming. Not having to focus on your footing frees the mind to both focus on nutrition and pace while also having time to let the mind wander.

Setting a goal for this race is difficult. On paper it seems so easy, but I know there will be ups and downs just like both of my 100 milers I have completed. I finished both 100 milers in the 26 hour range. Without any terrain and access to aid at all times I think 120 miles is an ambitious but attainable goal for my 24 hour race. That comes out to an average of 12 minute miles for 24 hours. The strategy to get to that number will evolve with many hours of training on the track and playing with spreadsheets.

While my running is normally a combination of running and nature, this year I am stripping out the nature aspect and getting down to just pure running.

Racing Across the Sky

2013-09-01T06:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, I first have to admit that I am an awful blogger. It has been about seven months since my last post and the Leadville 100 is over. Here is a quick recap of the time between my last post and my race:

2/9: Had a 26.2 mile training run in 3:16 and felt great.
2/16: 11 miles into my long run my left knee was very angry and I had to walk home.
2/17-2/24: Ran only 5 miles due to very sharp knee pain that did not let me run.
2/25: Ran Mount Si twice and Little Si once outside of Seattle on a business trip. Once again, I had a lot of knee pain.


The view the first time up Mount Si was not so great.

I climbed Mount Si a second time for this view.

2/26-3/22: Logged a total of 41 miles, mostly uphill walking on the treadmill.
3/23: I recorded my first official DNS. It was a 30 miler.
3/29: I received a call from my physician telling me to stop all exercise due to my MRI result. He thought that I needed surgery on my knee to repair some cartilage.
4/11: An orthopedic surgeon disagreed that I needed surgery and ordered physical therapy.
4/12-5/4: I trained mostly just walking, mostly on the treadmill with one long trail walk on the weekend.
5/11: I decided to go ahead and try to Ice Age Trail 50 mile race for which I had registered. On my training walks whenever I started running it became painful quickly so I walked the entire race. Walking 50 miles at 14:09 pace on hilly trails was harder than I expected. It was a great mental boost to finish an ultra, however I was extremely sore and my feet were DESTROYED. I will spare you all of seeing that picture. I had as much blister as foot.
5/21-5/23: I was in the Seattle area again for work and climbed Wilderness Peak and West Tiger Mountain #3 while I was there with heavily taped feet.
5/26: I ran 8 miles with knee discomfort, but not the sharp pain. It was something to build on.
6/1-6/22: I focused on just one run per week and got up to 20 miles with still only aches and discomfort in my knee instead of the sharp pains.
6/25 and 6/27: Ran the Mission Peak Park area in Fremont, CA on a work trip. These runs felt pretty good, but at this point I was only one and a half months from Leadville and I still had only gone 20 miles in training.
6/30: 20 mile trail training run, achy knee.
7/6: 26.2 miles by doing 5 laps around Devil's Lake. That comes out to just under 5000 feet elevation gained which is more per mile than Leadville.
7/17: My sister in law got married in Incline Village on the north side of Lake Tahoe so we were there for 5 days. I took advantage of being in the mountains and got as close to a race preview as I could. I did a 39 mile loop starting in Incline Villlage and ascending Relay Peak, Mount Stoughton, Church's Peak, and Mount Rose. All of those peaks are over 10,000 feet and the total elevation gain was about 7000 feet. I felt okay, still just discomfort in the knee that I could run through.
7/26: 30 mile trail run during the night after a full day of work.
8/4: 16 mile run.
8/5-8/16: A total of 4 miles of uphill treadmill walking to let my body rest.

During this whole time frame I continued physical therapy which I enjoyed much more than talking to the doctor's ideas of what might be wrong. I am very happy that my surgeon did not jump into knee surgery. Through physical therapy we have identified that my left leg in general has no strength. I can lift hardly any weight with it. My strengthening exercises have only helped minimally, so after Leadville I will need to focus 100% on correcting my left leg.

That brings us to my race, the Leadville 100 mile trail run. I had logged less than half of the miles this year that I had planned if I was healthy. My couple of 30+ mile runs had given me the confidence that I had a chance finishing this. The finish rate is typically under 50% and with my injuries this year I knew it would be tough, but I was still hopeful for a finish.

Running miles are the yellow bars. My miles were supposed to increase from January through July.

Leadville

We flew out to Denver on Thursday 8/15 and drove straight out to Leadville after a stop at Target and Chik-Fil-A. Leadville is a nice little city and also the highest US city at over 10,000 feet of elevation. On Thursday I picked up my race packet and we drove to the first couple aid station areas to familiarize my wonderful crew (my wife Kendra) with their locations. Friday we drove to the other aid stations, attended the pre-race meeting, and then ate a large dinner before heading to bed at 7:30 pm. My Pizza Hut meaty marinara pasta ritual continued, I ate three servings.

Pizza Hut Pasta!

My original goal back in January was to finish under 25 hours. With my great reduction in training I realized that 25 hours would be tough, not impossible, but I needed to really focus on finishing this race. My expected time when adding up my splits for my wife to find me at aid stations was 28 hours and 45 minutes.

The race started at 4:00 AM. It was dark for just under two hours after the start. At the start it was cool to see Scott Jurek.

Start to May Queen

Miles: 0-12.55
Time: 2:05:00
Pace: 10:00 min/mile
Aid Station Time: 1:30
Elevation:

This first section of the course starts downhill on some roads, mostly dirt, before making it down to a nice trail around Turquoise Lake. With 944 people starting the race it was a bit crowded on the single track trail, but I was not in much of a hurry at this point. I finished this section at 10:00 pace which is exactly what I had planned. It got light out just before I reached the aid station. I grabbed some chicken broth from Kendra at the aid station and dropped off my running pants. I felt great so far.

May Queen to Fish Hatchery

Miles: 12.55-22.85
Actual Time: 1:56:10
Actual Pace: 11:17 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 4:02:40
Accumulated Pace: 10:37 min/mile

Aid Station Time: 3:00
Elevation:

It was now time for the first of the six major climbs. The uphill was not too steep in most places and I was able to keep a quick hike. The downhill was a trail that weaved through a powerline clearing. It was STEEP in places. I averaged 8:45 min/mile over the 3.5 mile descent, it wasn't faster just because I had to put on the brakes to prevent sliding. At the aid station I dropped some more clothes, ate some soup, stocked up on cookies, GU, and a sandwich before heading out.

Fish Hatchery to Halfpipe

Miles: 22.85-29.5
Actual Time: 1:12:10
Actual Pace: 10:51 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 5:17:50
Accumulated Pace: 10:46 min/mile
Aid Station Time: 0:25
Elevation:

This section was relatively flat, however I was ahead of schedule and made an effort to walk even these small uphills. I could feel discomfort in my left knee and upper leg as I have most of the year, but it was not anything bad enough to worry me too much. I saw Kendra at the treeline (27.1 miles) for one more quick cup of soup and I continued on to the aid station. No crew is allowed at the aid station so I checked in, grabbed some watermelon, and continued on my way.

Halfpipe to Twin Lakes

Miles: 29.5-38.25
Actual Time: 1:49:25
Actual Pace: 12:30
Accumulated Time: 7:07:40
Accumulated Pace: 11:11
Aid Station Time: 6:20
Elevation:

This climb seemed to last forever! Miles 25 to 35 are predominantly uphill and by the end of it I was more than ready for a break. I was not in the best of moods for the last mile of it, but that quickly changed when I hit the downhill. I lost 1355 feet over three miles and it was very runnable. By the time I got to the Twin Lakes aid station I was recovered from the climb and feeling great once again. At the aid station I loaded up on sunscreen, drank Gatorade, and grabbed more cookies and GU. It was plenty warm but they warned us not to go over Hope Pass without a jacket so I threw it in my pack. I sat for a few minutes and then headed out. Kendra left for her break/nap at the hotel and I would see her back at this aid station in 21 miles.

Running downhill felt great!

Twin Lakes to Winfield

Miles: 38.25-49.4
Actual Time: 3:29:00
Actual Pace: 18:45 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 10:41:00
Accumulated Pace: 12:59 min/mile
Aid Station Time: 17:30
Elevation:

Good news: I was done with almost 40 miles and I was feeling good.
Bad news: I was about to climb 3300 feet over 4 miles.

First, I had to cross the river. It was shin deep and we had a rope to guide us across. It was so dry out that my shoes were fairly dry within a couple miles.

As soon as I started the climb I quickly realized that I had run 40 miles already over mountainous terrain and that this was much steeper than we had climbed so far. I called Kendra (yes, I had cell phone reception) and let her know not to hurry back too fast to Twin Lakes, I knew it would be 6.5-7 hours at the fastest to return there. I just kept a nice steady pace over this climb. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes to cover the first 3.5 miles of this climb which is a blistering 22:51 min/mile pace. I had even been passing people in this stretch! After 3.5 miles there was the "Hopeless" aid station. They had llamas that had hauled the supplies up there. I grabbed some soup and watermelon and continued on for the last half mile of climbing. Getting to the top was glorious.

The top of Hope Pass, the first time.

So unlike the top of the climb before Twin Lakes where you get to enjoy a downhill, this descent was not the least bit enjoyable. It was a struggle just to stay on my feet. There is 2400 feet of elevation loss over 2.4 miles. I averaged 18:30 per mile over this section showing that it is hardly even walkable. Hitting the flatter section at the bottom was a bit of a relief, though it does include climbing 400 feet. I was able to average 15:20 for this section which felt fast. When I reached the Winfield aid station I decided to check out my feet. They were not awful, but I did have a few blisters to relieve, bandage, and tape. This along with a shoe and sock change from my drop bag took about 15 minutes so I was eager to leave. I just grabbed some oranges (no melon available), filled up some water, and was on my way. I was half way done in less than 11 hours which meant that I had 19 hours to finish the second half. That should be easy, right?

Note: The leader had passed me just as I was approaching the top of Hope pass, so he was about 10 miles ahead. Scott Jurek was in third or fourth when he passed me just after I had started my descent.

Winfield to Twin Lakes

Miles: 49.4-60.4
Actual Time: 3:40:15
Actual Pace: 20:01 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 14:38:15
Accumulated Pace: 14:32 min/mile
Aid Station Time: 10:00
Elevation:

I have never seen such misery in a race. When we all started ascending Hope Pass for a second time it was tough to say the least. This side of Hope Pass was steeper and the legs were much more tired. Many folk were alternating walking with resting, including me. I made huge efforts to last as long between resting as possible, but I just needed the breaks. The 2.4 mile climb took me 1 hour 22 minutes. Yes, 34:10 pace. Like I said, this was absolutely brutal.

Photo evidence of the walk/rest method.

As I approached the top it was sad seeing the folk heading the other way that had no chance of making the time cut-off at Winfield, there were a lot of them. The descent on the other side was much more forgiving. After the limited "Hopeless" aid station I averaged 14:00 pace down the mountain. When I got back to the Twin Lakes aid station I was very glad to see Kendra and take a seat. I had realized that I did not eat enough at Winfield and was starting to lag in nutrition. I had just crossed the river again so I changed socks and shoes one more time. I drank some Gatorade, ate some cantaloupe, ate some watermelon, drank a cup of mountain dew, and I was on my way once again. The dew was much more delicious than expected and I felt the quick caffeine kick.

Twin Lakes to Halfpipe

Miles: 60.4-69.2
Actual Time: 2:35:45
Actual Pace: 17:42 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 17:24:00
Accumulated Pace: 15:05 min/mile
Aid Station Time: 11:45
Elevation:

Looking at the elevation chart the climb out of Twin Lakes is fairly cruel. You just finished Hope Pass and now you have the steep side of this climb to tackle. This climb for some reason did not bother me too much. I climbed at just over 18:00 pace which is not so bad for this climb at this point of the race. After I reached the top I started to try and jog and my legs had other plans. My quads were pretty trashed and my legs just started crumbling when going into a jog. So I backed off and continued a quick hike down the trail. Soon it turned dark and my stomach was really becoming angry now as well. I tried to take a GU and half way through just about had it come back up. I tried cookies a little later and they were not settling either. I was hoping this downhill would feel great, but it became a slow hike with no quads and a stomach that was not accepting food. Just like the uphill on the way out, this downhill lasted forever.

I was ecstatic to reach the Halfpipe aid station. They had a tent with a propane heater (it was now back down to 40 degrees or so) with a large variety of food. I grabbed some hot beef broth, chips, coke, and watermelon. I sat down and ate it all. I continued to drink one more cup of beef broth while my food settled and then took one for the road. I felt much better when I left this aid station than when I arrived.

Mentally at this point I was in a pretty good state still. I knew a 25 hour finish was not going to be possible without a true miracle, but a solid finished time with a couple hours to spare under the cut-off was well within my grasp if I can keep my stomach happy and keep moving.

Halfpipe to Fish Hatchery

Miles: 69.2-75.9
Actual Time: 1:40:15
Actual Pace: 14:58
Accumulated Time: 19:16:00
Accumulated Pace: 15:14
Aid Station Time: 24:30
Elevation:

Just over two miles after I left Halfpipe I saw Kendra at the treeline. I felt okay since I had just ate a buffet so I quickly grabbed a cup of soup, ate a piece of melon, and traded my water pack for a hand bottle since it was only 4.5 miles to Fish Hatchery where I would have access to another food line. 1.5 of those miles were on dirt road and a trail before the remaining three miles of paved road. It was nice to not have to focus on where I was placing my feet and not having a pack on my back for a bit. Even the Gatorade in my water bottle was not settling well on the move though. Nothing at this point seemed to settle while I was moving. I kept my walk around 14:00 pace over this paved section, the legs still were not wanting to shift into a jog. I could see the aid station lights from about 3 miles out and it took forever to finally reach it.

At the aid station I sat down and started eating once again. I ate watermelon, chips, coke, and soup. Kendra bagged up some watermelon and chips for me to put in my pack since I had over ten miles before I would see her, or any aid station, again. I left the aid station and before I got past the people I realized the ball of my right foot was in bad shape and was stinging pretty bad now with every step. I stopped to bandage and tape it up before leaving civilization and heading back up the powerline.

Fish Hatchery to May Queen

Miles: 75.9-86.4
Actual Time: 3:32:00
Actual Pace: 20:11 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 23:12:30
Accumulated Pace: 16:07 min/mile
Aid Station Time: 14:30
Elevation:

The second time up Hope Pass was the most misery I had seen in a race. Climbing the powerline on the way back was just about as bad. You are almost 80 miles into a race and this is a steep climb of over 1500 feet over 4 miles. Another racer and their pacer passed me just as we started the climb and I decided that I would try to keep up with them as long as possible. I felt like we were really pushing the pace up this section as I held on for 2.4 miles. Looking at the splits we were averaging 21:39 min/mile. I was only 4 miles past Fish Hatchery and I was starving. So I stopped for a six minute snack break to get some calories in without getting sick. I ate all of my watermelon and most of the chips.

After my break I continued the last 1.5 miles of the climb at around 21:00 min/mile pace. Shortly after I started to descend I was once again starving and now I had no food left. My stomach got increasingly upset and if I jogged even a couple steps it got worse. I trudged along down the mountain pass at a painful 21:42 pace. I actually averaged slower on the way down than up. By the time I reached Kendra at the May Queen aid station I was not in good shape.

Kendra immediately commented on how pale I looked and we started the process of consuming calories. Watermelon was the food of choice along with the chicken broth. I ate a lot of watermelon. I would see Kendra again in less than five miles and then it was another eight or so to the finish so I packed extra melon in my pack with the plan to stop with 4 miles left to eat it if necessary. I was not going to run out of food again. I drank a cup of coke and headed out.

May Queen to Finish

Miles: 86.4-99
Actual Time: 3:21:35
Actual Pace: 16:00 min/mile
Accumulated Time: 26:48:35
Accumulated Pace: 16:05 min/mile
Elevation:

Leaving May Queen I had over 6.5 hours left to cover less than 13 miles. That comes out to just over 30 minutes per mile in order to finish. I knew it would take a disaster for me not to finish at this point. The trail around Turquoise Lake however was still painful. In the elevation chart you can see the constant little ups and downs. I felt like I was continually going up and this point and to make things worse my headlamp was starting to fade. Navigating trails with little light when exhausted was not fun. I found someone going a little faster than I was comfortable with to push me and we talked on the uphills as I trailed him mooching off his light. I continued with him until the trail turned away from Turquoise Lake. I had covered the last 6.85 miles since May Queen at 19:06 pace.

There were less than 6 miles to go at this point and it was starting to get a little light out so I forced my body to start running on the flat and downhill. I felt like I was going to fall apart, but kept pushing. Most of the last five miles is uphill and I ended up averaging 12:11 pace over this section. My quads were on fire as I pushed up the final miles with a 13:00 walk up the steeper sections while moving at a jog in the flatter sections. The last quarter mile is an uphill and I thought I would be able to run it. As sad as it is I had to switch back to my fast walk until I reach the fences of the finishing chute where I then ran it on in. I finished with a time of 26:48:39, it was 6:48 in the morning.

After finishing the adrenaline was pumping pretty good and I felt alright. I weighed in and had only lost about 4 pounds during the race. I got a couple pictures, found my drop bag to pick up, and went to a shop to get something in my stomach. I got a fruit smoothie and it was delicious. Then we went back to the hotel to finally get some sleep.
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After Leadville

There were 944 people start the race and 494 finished. That is a 52% finish rate which is actually better than usual for Leadville. I finished 188th which put me in the top 20% of starters. I was very happy with my finish considering my training issues this year even though I did not get my original goal of sub 25 hours.

Things That Went Well

- Foot Care: I pre-taped my heels and I tended to hot spots as soon as I felt them. I only had about 6 small blisters at the end of the race. My feet were in much better shape than after my 50 miler this year.
- Cramping: I never cramped up in this race. In most ultras my legs cramp up pretty good. I am not sure the reason it did not happen in this race.
- Getting Sick: I did not puke during this 100 miler. It was not pleasant in my last one.

Things That Went Not So Well

- Nutrition: Just like my last 100 miler, my stomach was not in good shape somewhere around 70 miles. This is tough to address in training since I will never do a training run this far. Last time sandwiches and soup were my go to foods to get back on track. This time it was watermelon, cantaloupe, and soup. Next time I need to have extra of all food items with my crew and make sure to take plenty with me between aid stations.
- Aid Stations: This is really the same as nutrition. I spent twice as long as I had planned. I expected 50 minutes of aid station time and actually spent about 1 hour 40 minutes instead. Most of this was to get my stomach back on track. Having extra of all foods pre-bagged could have saved a little time.
- Conditioning: Due to my left leg issues that limited my training I ran out of gas earlier than I should have. There were many flat or downhill sections later in the race that I should have been able to run.
- Lighting: I clearly did not have the quality of headlamp that most people had. I will upgrade before the next race I do in the dark.

What Is Next?

I need to fix my leg issues that limited me this year. I start physical therapy again now that my race is over. I am hoping that I can actually heal now that I am not running. I am not going to sign up for any races until I am on track to have back to normal strength in my left leg. If things go well I will possibly do some shorter races (10k or less) next spring and then see what makes sense for the fall.

Thanks

I need to finish by thanking my wife for crewing me for almost 27 hours while she was 30 weeks pregnant. Kendra is reaching professional status for ultra marathon crewing and I would not want to do a hundred miler without her.

My belt buckle. I will wear it to all formal occasions.

January Recap: Nutrition and Mileage Buildup

2013-02-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

I am back to doing an EARLY Saturday morning long run and I remember now how enjoyable they are. Like many, I have a pretty hectic work week so I like starting off the weekend with something to clear the mind. While others may prefer to sleep in, I like to wake up early, eat something, and start running while it is still dark. There is something about running for the first segment in the dark with no sign of another human that is truly calming. I can also be back home by 10:00 am ready to enjoy the weekend with my family. As much as I like racing, these long training runs may be my favorite part of ultra running.

January was a very consistent month for me. I ran every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday with the exception of New Year's Day. I did not run a single Sunday, Monday, or Friday. The graph below shows my very slow weekly mileage build-up ever since I returned from my post-ironman running hiatus.

I ran a total of 167.95 miles in 21 hours, 30 minutes, and 10 seconds during January (7:30 pace). My long runs of the month were 15, 17, 20, and 21 miles. My pace on the long runs has been sub 8:00. Once I am able to train on the trails my pace will slow down to where it is supposed to be. Weekday runs were between 5 and 8.5 miles long.

We finally had a week of really cold weather with negative temperatures. I had one of those runs where I can fill half of the laundry machine with the clothes I wore. My water bottles also do not handle the weather very well. A Gatorade slushy is just not all that great when temps are below 10 degrees.

I also found my favorite shoe, the Saucony Mirage 2, on clearance so I bought six pairs. I may have enough for the year, but I would not be surprised if I still have to buy one more pair.

A large focus for me has been my nutrition this month. On January 29th I did a one day study of my nutrition. This is pretty representative of a normal weekday for me over the past few weeks. I started the day with a 8.5 mile run.

Fish Oil: 35 cal, 1 g carbs, .5 g protein, 3 g fat

Morning 6:15 - Post workout smoothie
8 oz apple juice 110 cal, 28 g carbs
1 scoop protein powder 150 cal, 8 g carbs, 25 g protein, 2.5 g fat
2 cups frozen strawberries 80 cal, 22 g carbs, .2 g protein
1 banana 105 cal, 27 g carb, 1.3 g protein, .4 g fat
Total: 445 cal 85 g carbs, 26.5 g protein, 2.9 g fat

Morning snack 8:00 - Energy trail mix
Dried cranberries, almonds, cashews: 525 cal 49 g carbs, 14 g protein, 35 g fat

First and Second Lunch 10:30,1:30 - Salad
1/2 cup spinach 12 cal, 2 g carbs, 3 g protein
2 hard boiled egg whites 34 cal, .4 g carb, 7.2 g protein, .2 g fat
1 cup cauliflower 25 cal, 5.3 g carb, 2 g protein, .1 g fat
1 cup broccoli 31 cal, 6 g carbs, 2.6 g protein, .3 g fat
1/2 cup carrots 40 cal, 9.6 g carbs, .8 g protein
1/2 cup celery 8 cal, 1.8 g carbs, .4 g protein, .1 g fat
1 cup turkey 120 cal, 26.4 g protein, 1.2 g fat
1/2 cup raisins 260 cal, 62 g carbs, 2 g protein
1 roma tomato 11 cal, 2.4 g carbs, .5 g protein, .1 g fat
Total: 541 cal 89.5 g carbs, 44.9 g protein, 2 g fat

Dinner 5:30 - Asparagus and mushrooms wrapped in chicken
1 chicken breast 220 cal, 48 g protein, 3 g fat
1/2 can mushrooms 18 cal, 6.7 g carbs, 1.3 g protein, .2 g fat
asparagus 30 cal, 6 g carbs, 3.3 g protein, .1 g fat
Total: 268 cal 12.7 g carbs, 52.6 g protein, 3.3 g fat

Night snacks
4 oz apple juice 55 cal 14 g carbs
1 golden delicious apple 82 cal 22.4 carbs
1 banana 105 cal, 27 g carb, 1.3 g protein, .4 g fat
Total: 242 cal 63.4 g carbs, 1.3 g protein, .4 g fat

Grand Total: 2056 cal 300.6 g carbs, 139.8 g protein, 46.6 g fat
Percentage breakdown by calories: 55% Carbs, 26% Protein, 19% Fat

Just to be clear, I do eat whatever I feel like a couple meals per week. I am not trying to do any strict diet here. I consumed a Big Mac in the month of January. My weight has been steady through this process just a few pounds above my ideal racing weight.

Over the last days of the month I experimented with making my own salad dressing. It is a way to add some "healthy fat" to my diet and it is delicious.
- 3 parts extra virgin olive oil
- 2 parts lemon juice
- healthy amount of cayenne pepper
- garlic powder

Race countdown:
7 weeks until Clinton Lake 30 Mile Trail Run
14 weeks until Ice Age Trail 50 Mile Trail Run
28 weeks until Leadville 100 Mile Trail Run

A Little Catching Up

2013-01-20T09:54:00.000-08:00

So it has been over four years since my first post. I am more focused on my running this year than ever before so I am trying the blog out again. I need another place to fill my desire to talk about running to spare my wife even a little of that load.

2012 was easily the best year of my life. On December 26 2011 my son was born and raising him into a little boy has been amazing. I will not focus on my son in this blog since I already talk to everybody about him and to follow his life just become friends with my wife on Facebook. Phone calls never start with "How is your training going?". They usually start with "How is Carson?". I am not complaining, just explaining my focus of these posts.

2012 was also an great year for my running even though my results are not overwhelming. My main focus of the year was Ironman Wisconsin. I accomplished my goal of sub 12 hours in just how I expected. I had a poor swim, a mediocre bike, and a good run. The real highlight for my running last year however were some of the places that I ran. I had done a couple of mountain runs in the past but this year I took that to a new level and my desire for mountain running has multiplied. I ran Griffith Peak, Mount Charleston, Mummy Mountain, Mount Mitchell, and Mont Chetif last year.

Mount Charleston

Mont Chetif in the Italian Alps

I have been running ultramarathons since 2008. I have completed 7 of them ranging from a 50k to 100 miles. I always had a goal to work up to doing one of the large mountain 100 mile runs out west and I have decided that this is the year to go for it. On January 1st I signed up for the Leadville 100 mile run in Leadville, CO. This is one of the most well known and prestigious ultramarathons. Check out the elevation profile. Notice the how insignificant Heartbreak Hill is in the Boston Marathon.

Finishing this race would be incredible, but I have set a goal to do it in under 25 hours in order to bring home the big buckle that is awarded to all racers that come in under that time. Just imagine having one of these to wear around with your jeans.

My training plan is simple. Early morning runs Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday followed by a long run on Saturday. I have found this to work best with my family and work schedule and I also prefer a heavy emphasis on long Saturday run. That weekly long run should exceed 40 miles by July. As much of my training as possible will be on hilly trails.

Other races for the year include the Clinton Lake 30 miles trail run on March 23 and the Ice Age Trail 50 miles trail run on May 11. I look forward to running with some fellow Michigan State Triathlon alum, Joel and Alex, in the Ice Age Trail runs.

Everything has been on track so far in the first few weeks of the year. I completed my first 20 miler of the year yesterday which is ahead of schedule. Additionally I have made significant changes to my diet. Instead of eating cereal 3 times a day I am actually getting at least 80% of my calories from fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. I am focusing on eating these foods when my body needs them in relation to my workouts. I am giving it a try to see if I can notice a difference, particularly in recovery time between runs.

Fall 50

2008-10-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

So it all started for me when I read the book Ultramarathon Man. Once I read about the crazy feats that Dean could accomplish I figured I could at least run 50 miles. I decided to sign up for the Fall 50 in Door County, WI.

As a "training race" I also signed up for the Hobo 50k. Going into this race I felt great and thought I was in better shape than ever before so I started out at marathon pace (7:00/mile). After 20 miles I was leading the race. At this point I started to get leg cramps and also losy my cookies, literally, I had been eating cookies. I finished the race 16th with a final pace of 8:50/mile, a slight disaster. I had started way too fast, especially considering how I was on hilly trails.

Going into the 50 mile I wanted to make sure to be conservative in the beginning. I felt how bad it was to be suffering with 13 miles left in a race and I did not want that feeling with 20-30 miles left in a race. I started out at 9:00 mile pace. Now, this is pretty difficult to do. I have trained so much for this race, I feel great and ready to have a great race, and I have to start out jogging.

One nice feature about the Fall 50 is that all of the hills are in the first 26 miles, even though some of these hills were quite large. Another good thing is that almost every runner will walk these hills, so I followed suit. So for the first 27 miles I ran just fast enough to keep my pace right around 9:00 including my walking of the hills. Throughout this period I just stuck to my favorite running diet. For hydration I had a camelback that contained a half lemonade gatorade, half water mix. For food I had blue gummy sharks (with the white bellies) and honey flavored teddy grahams. To support mem Kendra was stopping approximately every two miles in the car to see if I needed anything.

After 27 miles I felt like I had been running a bit, but really did not have much fatigue. At mile 27 is the "half way buffet". I grabbed a bowl of chicken broth and devoured it... delicious. I have had chicken broth before in Ironman and knew it was good, but it always surprises me how good it is. Luckily I had cooked up a can of it myself in the morning and Kendra had it in a thermos. This would be critical for the rest of the race. About every 6 miles from here on out I drank a dixie cup of chicken broth.

Now, in every other race I have done if I felt this good at the half-way point I would speed up, but I promised myself that I would not do so until mile 40. So for miles 30-40 I stuck right around 9:00 miles and just kept them going. However, this required me to increase my effort. The wind had been gradually increasing all day and at this point was about 15-20 mph. This race is a point to point race and we had the wind against us the whole way. Up until this point we had been shielded pretty well by trees, but these miles were on a road surrounded by prairie. The temperature was around 50, so at least that was not an issue.

At mile 40 I realized there was no need to speed up. Eventually running this many miles had to catch up with my body, and it was starting to happen. My legs were definitely tired, but my lower back was really starting to hurt at this point. I finally ran out of my gatorade/water mix in my camelback so I tossed it to Kendra and asked her to stop every mile and give me a small cup of gatorade. This was really more for the moral support than hydration at this point. I needed small goals and running a single 9:00 mile at a time did not seem too bad. So I trudged through these miles as I could feel my strides shortening and my every muscle in my body tightening.

I crossed the finish in 7:27:23 according to Garmin and travelled 50.11 miles. My pace was 8:56/mile. During the entire race my average pace stayed between 8:55 and 9:05. I feel like I benefitted a ton by keeping a steady pace throughout. If I started any faster I most likely would have had issues later on.

This event had 72 runners in the solo division and I finished 7th. There were also 800 people running in relay teams of up to five people covering the 50 miles. At the finish line was a huge tent setup with pizza, breadsticks, soda, and BEER! I downed some pizza, a couple sodas, and then went to the beer. It was delicious.

Going into this race I was not sure if this would be harder than an Ironman, but I was leaning towards the 50 miler being more difficult. In hindsight I think that the actual race itself was very comparable to the Ironman, you just do not get the relief of changing sports. Recovery, on the other hand, might be a longer process after this race. I was using the same muscles and impacting the same joints the whole time. My wobble is a bit worse than after Ironman.

Large props go out to Kendra for giving me perfect race day support. I did not have a single stomach issue the whole day! Amazing, especially since this was my largest concern going into the race.

Results are not up yet, but they should be soon at www.fall50.com