1) In May, I ran the Ice Age 50K with my great friend, Kathy. It was her first 50K and I was so honored to be there with her every step of the way...that is until she raced ahead at the finish. It's ok, that's her M.O. She's awesome at the end of races and training runs. We had a lot of fun and it was so rewarding to be with her as she did something so incredible for the first time.
Training went really well. I got three 20+ training runs in, mostly at Glacial Park. I was a little worried that I hadn't gotten to Sternes/VA or to Kettle Moraine more to train, but I figured, with 9 hours as a cut-off, I'd be ok. It might take me close to 9 hours, but I would make it.
The day before the race, Mike and I headed north to Fremont, WI to our campground. We stayed there the night before the race as well as the night of the race. We were able to grill up some chicken and veggies and I had my usual stir fry dinner the night before my big run.
The morning of the race, we woke up at 4:45 to get coffee and oatmeal going before we headed into the car to make the 45 minute drive to High Cliff State Park where the race was.
The weather was perfect: clear skies and cool temps. I don't know how many times I cursed myself this summer when I forced myself to train in 90+ degree afternoons so that I was ready to run a 50K in August! But I am not complaining! It made me stronger and so much more thankful for the incredibly cool weather we were blessed with!
True to their word, the 50Kers were off at 7:00am! There were only 87 people that ran the 50K. The course started with a very sharp downhill on pavement. That led to a road crossing and then through a parking lot into the first trail. The Lime Kiln Trail was my favorite part of the whole race. It was wider than single track, but it was dirt and technical with roots, rocks, stones and bridges.
The 50K course was set up like this: You did the yellow loop, that brought you back to the start. Then you did the pink loop and again, you were brought back to the start, then you went into a long loop that started and ended in the woods, but was mostly in open prairie horse trails. When you finished that and were back at the start, you had to do the entire thing again. There was a 1-2 mile section of the yellow and pink loops that were both yellow AND pink. So you ended up doing that 1-2 mile section 4 times - twice in the first half before the prairies and twice when you repeated the course over again. That section included a humongous hill of rocks and steps...oh so many rocks and steps. It was hard the first time I went up. It was hard the 2nd time I went up. The third time it was REALLY hard and on that 4th time, I ended up Marco Poloing my running friends so they could share in my anguish going up that blasted hill.
When I got back to the start after the second yellow/pink go around, I tried to psych myself up to hit those prairies again. I had read the course description and knew that the last third of each half would be in full sun, open prairies. Now, maybe that sounds lovely to you. Perhaps you're thinking, "What the heck is she complaining about? Ain't nobody NOT like a prairie!" Here is where I'd like to share the second Nugget of Knowledge that came to me during this race: When I die, it will be in an open prairie on a summer day at about 2 in the afternoon.
Do not get me wrong. It totally could have been 100 times worse that day. The humidity could have been a million and it could have been way hotter. But it is hard to push yourself to run in open sun in the afternoon in an open prairie after you've already put in 20+ trail miles. But again, I didn't die, so I must be stronger now, right? And that is an awesome thing. I had been doing the math the last few miles and I knew I was going to be close to 7.5 hours. I really couldn't believe it! Around the middle of the race, I knew I could totally be around 8 hours, which made me so happy, but now, I was on track to beat 7.5 hours. That absolutely helped me run more than that thought I would at the end.
The people at the final aid station were so awesome when I rolled in. They had been there all day and at least 75 people had already passed them up. They knew they were almost done. But still, they hooted and hollered and got me pumped up to get what I needed and get the heck out of there. Mike was there too and I was totally pumped to finish. The last 1.5 miles really flew by because I ran a lot of it. I stopped to walk every so often because I was hurting, but there is nothing like the feeling that you know you are going to finish this hard as hell feat and when you know you're on track with your best case scenario time goal, it's even sweeter.
I came around a corner and could see the finish line. I saw Mike hanging out and then head in the other direction! "Hey!!!" I yelled! I wanted to pull a Kathy and finish strong so I'm glad he turned around right away! I felt super strong and powerful as I crossed that finish line! That is THE BEST feeling.
This race is FAN - flippin - TASTIC from start to finish. When I signed up for the race back in May, I received a handwritten note in the mail from the race director thanking me for signing up and wishing me well with my training. How awesome is that? At the finish line, he was there to HIGH FIVE me and give me my medal. The aid stations were well stocked and in great places and the volunteers were awesome and encouraging. The scenery was gorgeous and the numbers small. There was a great mix of running with people and being on my own. It was a perfect day!
Next up is Ragnar Northwoods in September. In October I might sign up for a 50K in Pekin. We'll see. What I do know is that I have got to get back into good habits nutrition and food wise. I have also got to start cross training with other activities to build my strength. I'd like to lose 15 lbs or so to get back into my most comfortable weight range. And running crazy miles makes it harder for me to do that.
Thanks so much for reading this far, friends! I hope that you have all had an incredible summer and that you've had the chance to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors with this amazing weather we've been blessed with!