Eric's Running Adventures

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Lake Perry Rocks 50K RR

What: Lake Perry Rocks 50K
When: October 19, 2013
Where: Lake Perry, Meriden, Kansas
Starting Temp: 32F
Finish Temp: 62F
Fueling Strategy: Tailwind nutrition as the mainstay, supplemented by real food at the aid stations
Goal: sub-7 hours
Finish Time: 6:07:19

Background:
I had a good spring racing season, then came the heat of the summer. It was a struggle to get in any long runs. Then I ran Coleen's Sweaty Ass Run on August 10th, a 10 hour event in which you run a 5K XC loop as many times as you want to within the 10 hours. I eked out 15 miles and decided I wanted to attempt to run the Hawk Marathon on September 14th. I would use the marathon as a training run to see if I could run the Lake Perry Rocks 50K.

After finishing the marathon and feeling good, I registered for the 50K the next morning and sketched out a training plan. I had scheduled back to back long runs on the weekends to get me use to longer runs without causing me too much recovery time. Unfortunately, the back to back long runs rarely happened as scheduled. The first week I ran both 11 mile runs as planned, but that was basically the end of following the schedule. I always got in the first long run, but never managed to run the 2nd long run. I had planned my longest run, a 22 miler, the day after a 4 mile race. Evidently, I underestimated how tired I would be after the 4 mile race as my 22 miler was ended at 11 miles. What that means is that my longest run between the marathon and 50K would be 16.5 miles. I realized my training was insufficient for actually racing the distance, but based upon the marathon, I figured I could still finish just under seven hours.

Race Week:
I had planned an easy 10-12 mile run around a park on the Saturday before the race. Then one of my friends asked if I wanted to go for a trail run, of course I opted for the trail run. I had a fun on the run, but we ended up doing a fairly hilly 14.5ish miles. The run was a blast and we took it easy, but I wondered how the legs would recover from the hills.

During the week leading up to the race, I ended up running three runs for a total of nine miles. On the first two runs, my legs felt tired, but on the third run, they felt pretty good. I took it easy on Friday and felt good going into the race.

Race Day:
I woke up at 2:30 so I could drink my coffee, let nature run its course, then drive the hour long trek to the start of the race. I made it to the race location at about 6:30ish and it was cold. I remained in my car for a bit until it was time to pick up the race packet. After picking up the packet, I mingled with the other runners until we had about 10 minutes before the start of the race. At that point, I went outside to start getting use to the weather.

With about 5 minutes until start time, we started to line up.

Facing the starting line

Facing backward.

At 8:00, we were off. I told myself to keep a slow and comfortable pace. Myself and one my friends, Casey started keeping pace. We decided to try and keep a 12:00/mile pace and see how it felt.

Sometime during Mile 1

We fell in line with other runners and started to settle in and enjoy the run. Early in the first mile, I had a small rock make its way into my shoe. It wasn't causing any pain so I decided to wait until the aid station at Mile 6 to remove it.

The first mile was on pace, but we noticed we had really slowed during the second mile and decided it was time to make the move to pass the runners leading the conga line. Another runner, Jonathan, decided to follow us and we now were a pack of three.

Early in Mile 2, before making the pass.

After passing, we picked up the pace a bit keeping it comfortable. By the Garmin, we kept knocking off miles at about 12:00 pace. It felt good and fairly effortless. I felt like I was in the zone. The time just flew by and before I knew it, we had reached the manned aid station at Mile 6.

Early in Mile 3

Photo taken during Mile 3 with the camera held behind my head.

Early in Mile 4.

Halfway through Mile 4

Near the end of Mile 4

Early in Mile 5

Late in Mile 5

Early in Mile 6

Manned aid station at Mile 6.

We reached the Mile 6 aid station in one hour. I took the time to remove my left shoe and empty out the rock. Put the shoe back on and refilled one of my water bottles with Tailwind. So the Garmin wasn't matching up, imagine that. After realizing we were averaging 10:00 miles I decided to slow the pace a bit, but not much. I figured as long as I was running well and could still readily hold a conversation, the pace was good.

By Mile 8, Casey decided to slow down to a pace he knew that he would be able to sustain throughout the race. Jonathan and I kept on truckin and maintained a relatively steady pace. The miles seemed to just fly by and before I knew it, we had reached the Mile 13 aid station.

Early in Mile 7. This section added about a pound of mud to each shoe.

Near the end of Mile 7

During Mile 11

During Mile 12

During Mile 13

Since we would hit the aid station again after running a two mile loop, we just ran passed and planned to hit it on the way back.

Shortly after leaving the aid station, I stopped again to check my shoe for rocks. Since removing the rock at Mile 6, it had felt like I still had a rock in it. No rock was found. I retied the shoe and started running again, but I didn't tie the shoe tight enough. Since it still felt like there was a rock in the shoe, I decided to completely remove the shoe, sock, and insole to make sure nothing was there. I also scraped off the mud to make sure that nothing was poking through the sole of the shoe. After nothing was found, I decided that my foot must have been bruised and I would just have to push it out of my mind. I was starting to slow during this section and made it a point to walk most of the hills during the 2nd loop.

During Mile 14

When I reached the aid station for the 2nd time, I refilled both my bottle with Tailwind and grabbed two more pouches that contained pre-measured amounts of Tailwind for when the bottles need to be refilled again. I decided it was time to eat something and grabbed a few pringles, a couple of small cookies, and a small pastry.


Leaving the aid station after Mile 15

I thanked the volunteers and headed back onto the trails.

During Mile 16

I was having a little pain near the right hip, but it was sporadic so I pushed onward. I would walk any hill and run the flats and downhill sections. The pace obviously slowed, but not too terrible. My goal at this point was still coming in just under seven hours so I wasn't worried about time, I was just wanting to manage the race so I could finish. The miles were getting more tiring, but the time still seemed to fly by and I managed to make it to the aid station at Mile 21 a little before noon feeling tired, hurting a little, but not too bad. I was still in good spirits and having a blast.

During Mile 18

During Mile 20. Some evil person put the chair out to coax runner to sit down. I avoided the temptation.


Aid station at Mile 21.

At the aid station, I drank some coke and ginger ale, refilled a water bottle with Tailwind, and grabbed a few pringles. After thanking the volunteers, I set back out on the trails.

Things were going well for a while, but during mile 24ish, I rammed my right foot into a rock and hit the ground hard. My right knee hit first, then my forearms took the brunt of the force. It felt like I rolled and leapt back to my feet fairly quickly. According to Jonathan, the fall was graceful. I dusted myself off, checked the mud-caked areas for cuts/blood, and continued down the trail.

After a while my right forearm started to hurt, like it had been bruised during the fall. Other than the bruised arm I was starting to feel really food again. I commented that the fall must have fixed something because I had a second wind. The running sections were growing longer and the walking sections shorter. Don't get me wrong, I was still tired, my hip was still hurting sporadically, but I was having a blast and moving forward.

During Mile 22

During Mile 25. Due to an unstable section of trail, we were routed up the side of the hill and back on to the trail when safe.


Flags guiding the way off the trail

At about Mile 27, my left knee started to complain. I started to believe I had a chance at sub-6:00 as long as my knee would hold out. I trudged along and started to slow. I figured if I made it to the main aid station at 5.5 hours, I would have a shot. I made it to the aid station fifteen minutes later than needed and stopped to drink some coke and ginger ale. Another runner came into the station shortly after I did. I made it a goal to stay ahead of him and headed out to finish the 2 mile loop. I was hoping to finish before the race clock showed 6:10, but at my current pace, plus the big hill leading up to the finish line, I knew it would be close. I trudged on running as long as my knee allowed it. I walked the hills, but was still able to run short distances of the flats and run all of the downhill sections. I finished the two mile loop quicker than I expected and made it to the bottom of the hill with five minutes to go. I thanked the volunteers and started to powerwalk up the hill. I started to run just before cresting the hill. People started to cheer and I tried to run it in. I crossed the finish line and felt awesome. I had finally achieved a goal that I had been trying to reach for several years now. To say I was happy would be a major understatement. I far surpassed my expectations and had a blast doing so. I definitely call the race a success!

The volunteers throughout the race played a huge part of getting me to finish the race. Every time I left an aid station, I had renewed determination and a little energy boost. To all the volunteers, THANK YOU!

And now for some photos taken by Kristi and Rick Mayo:

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Hawk Marathon - RR

What: Hawk Marathon
When: September 14, 2013
Where: Clinton Lake, Lawrence, KS
Finish Time: 5:42:xx

Background:
I decided to run this race back on August 10th. I ran 5 miles in the morning and then ran another 15 miles that night during Coleen's Sweaty Ass Run. I registered for the marathon the following morning. This race was going to be my first official marathon. I made a makeshift plan for getting in long runs and started training for it the following weekend. I ended up with two 16 mile long runs and a half marathon. I also did an 11 mile run and a 9 mile run. My training was definitely what one would call ideal.

Starting about 9 days before the race, the morning after a 9 mile run, my lower back started to cause me problems. It was a struggle to stand up straight and I had issues with sciatica. I stretched it out and used a foam roller nightly. Two days after the back issues and a week before the marathon, I ran a half marathon. At about Mile 7 of the half, my back started hurting and forced me to walk. I had to walk the majority of the remainder of the half, as such, I was in serious doubt concerning being able to run the marathon.

I had three chiropractic appointments in the week leading up to the marathon and it helped. My back felt better after the last appointment on Thursday so I went to the weekly Thursday night trail run. I ran about 3 easy miles and my back was tight, but didn't cause any pain. On Friday morning, the back was once again tight and causing a bit of pain. It was better after a few hours of moving around so I decided to go ahead and run the marathon.

Race Morning:
The marathon was associated with a 50 mile and 100 mile race. The longer races started at 6:00 and since a friend was running the 100 miler, I wanted to get there before they took off. Since the race was about an hour away, that meant I had to leave by 4:30 to ensure I got there on time. I woke up early, drank coffee and ate a bowl of cereal, then headed out after, how should I say this, nature took it's course. I got there in time, wished him luck, then set about preparing for the marathon which started an hour later. My hydration consisted of a Nathan belt with two 10oz containers filled with tailwind endurance fuel drink mix. I also had six small (2"x1") Ziploc bags filled with measured amounts of the tailwind mix for when my bottles needed to be refilled. I planned on eating whatever they had at the aid stations for additional fuel as needed.

Finally, The Race:
Since I was not prepared to actually race, I decided to use this marathon as a long run to see how far off I was from being able to run a 50K. A good friend of mine, Sarah, agreed to let me tag along with her during the race. It made the race a blast and it seemed to go by quickly.

Now I don't remember mile-by-mile details, so this part will be lighter on text, but heavy on pictures. If you just want to see the pictures, just scroll to after the text.

The race started at 7:00 and we were off. I had to keep reminding myself not to go out with everyone as they passed us by on the short pavement section.

The marathon started with a 1.2 mile section and then started on the 25 mile course that the other races were held on. This section was nice and easy which made for a great warm-up section. Toward the end of it, were starting to hit our stride.

The 25 mile course was a different beast with a lot of rocky and rooty technical singletrack, some large boulder hopping, long grassy hills in the open sun, and a few short pavement sections.

The first half of the race went really well. For the first 8ish miles we hung with a group being paced by one of our friends. It was fun and filled with some classic one liners such as "do you want to take some ibuprofen prophylactically?" Naturally, the medical definition was not the first meaning that came to mind. It was quickly followed by "hearing that just made running the marathon worth it."

Somewhere around the 8-9 mile point we broke from the group and started picking it up a bit. Shortly after splitting from the pack we came to a section of trail near the lake that included large rocks/boulders, some could be avoided, for others, we had to do some rock hopping. This was a fun section for me!

In another mile or two we hit our second aid station. From there, we ran along the road and up a grassy path to a section known as bunker hill. This was my least favorite section as it was a 2.5 mile out & back grassy path that was in full sun. Our pace slowed here and we were looking forward to getting back to the aid station. Once there, we would be over half way done. While running on the short pavement section, my back started complaining a bit. With the jarring from each footfall on the pavement, I would feel the pain in my lower back get more intense. I couldn't wait to get back onto the trails.

Upon leaving the aid station, we entered the trails again. Our pace, and our spirits, instantly picked back up. Shortly after re-entering the trails, I took an ibuprofen to see if it would lessen the tightness/soreness of my lower back. It seemed to work because after running for about a mile, my back was no longer complaining.

We soon hit the 17 mile point and I was surprised by how good I was still feeling. We started slowly picking off runners in front of us. Somehow some Elmer Fudd accents started being used as we saw a runner in the distance..."be very very quiet, it's wunner season, I'm hunting wunners." Also, I can neither confirm nor deny whether or not a little "Boom Shake the Room" from the Fresh Prince was sung. It might have been, it might not have been, I'll let you decide.

Somewhere after mile 18, I noted that we finally had single digit mileage remaining until we were finished. That's when Sarah said she saw the 8-mile trail marker a little while ago and that one of the race directors told her that once we reached that, the mile markers matched the remaining mileage.

By Mile 19, my left knee was feeling a little tired. I took one more ibuprofen and kept on truckin. I was enjoying running on the trails. We were both getting tired and looking forward to the next, and last, aid station. We would once again see some friends and were hoping to get a nice energy boost. From the aid station, we only had 6.5 miles remaining.

We arrived at the aid station and I had my water bottles refilled for the last stretch. Upon leaving we were re-energized, but it was short-lived. I started looking forward to seeing the mile markers counting down. I saw the mile 6 marker, but never saw the mile 5 marker. Sarah and I were commenting on how this was the longest mile ever. If the next mile marker was not for mile 4, I would have been deflated. Thankfully, we came up to the next mile marker and it had a 4 on it! That alone seemed to re-energize me. I was still tired and slowing, but my mood had increased. I am certain that if Sarah was not running with me, I would have walked much of the remaining miles. I was thankful for having a friend running the race with me.

Surprisingly, we were still picking off other runners. I lamented that in the second half of the race we have passed quite a few runners and were only passed by one runner. I call that running a successful race. When we reached the mile 3 marker, it finally donned on me that I was actually going to finish running, rather than walking. I was tired, but still feeling pretty good. That alone was quite motivating.

Our goal kept changing throughout the race. At first, it was just to finish. Then after noticing we were on pace for a 6:00 time, that became our goal.Our goal then became under 5:45, was later changed to 5:50 as were became more tired. Then after the mile 3 marker, we changed it back to sub-5:45. We figured we could do it, but it would be close.

We finally reached the mile 1 marker and tried to pick up the pace. It felt like we were moving along well. The final section on the trail seemed to fly by and soon we were out of the trail and just had .2 flat miles to the finish. As soon as we saw the finish, we "kicked" it in.

This was probably the most fun that I had at a race. It was a great way to spend the morning and I finished knowing that I will register for the 50K on October 19th. Now I just need to develop a short training regimen.

The food at the finish was awesome, cookie, burgers, pasta, brownies, cake, they basically had it all. It was great watching friends finish. After finishing, I shot the breeze with friends while watching runners come through. It felt good to relax and even better to take the shoes off. I probably chatted for a couple of hours, then called it a day.

I couldn't have asked for a better race, considering the 10 days I had leading up to it. This was a great experience and just confirmed that I love running the longer distance races. Next up will be a 50K around Lake Perry.

No report would be complete without a huge THANK YOU to all of the volunteers. It was great seeing several of my friends(Bryan, Janee, Wayne) out there on the course and at the aid stations.

Now it's time for a lot of photos. These were taken while out on the course.

Enjoy!