Another Dam 50k

AKA: "You. Are. An. Ultramarathoner!"

I talked Kristen Huener Henney into doing for the Bigfoot 50k (at Salt Fork State Park, near Cambridge) with me last December. Why? Because:
(1) the 31.5-mile race was 3 weeks after the Richmond Marathon, so if I maintained my weekly running schedule and added in a 3-hour run on the hilly trails of Highbanks Metro Park, I'd be prepared;
(2) we had 8-hours in which to finish (= average 15:25/mile pace);
(3) I hadn't done an ultra yet; and
(4) my sister had.

Before, in "not a deer" clothing.

 

K's legs after.

 The course was much more difficult than either of us expected: steep "technical" hills, shoe-soaking creek crossings, and long patches of ankle-deep mud, thanks to the previous four days of rain. Kristen (the Mountain Goat) and I ran the first 10.5-mile loop together, but it was obvious that her legs were adapting to the terrain much better than mine; I sent her on her way shortly into the second loop. Meanwhile, my quads were burning from the hills and I was getting tired of slogging through the mud. When I had to retrieve my double-knotted trail shoe from the middle of 50-foot mud bog, I made my decision: I was done with this foolishness. I finished the second loop and walked back to cheer on KHH and the other finishers. I was a little disappointed at DNF'ing, but I learned a lot from the experience and got a great hoodie as race schwag.


This spring, my ultra-buddy Mikaila Burns (with her eyes on the 100-mile prize this summer) convinced me to register for Another Dam 50k (at Englewood Metro Park, near Dayton). It would be a training run for her and she promised me that I'd like the course better and that I *would* finish.

Before

The race is put on by the Ohio River Road Runners Club (they also do the Xenia Half in April). The laid-back vibe and the price ($15, or $25 if you want a finishers' shirt) can't be beat.

The course: A mix of gravel trail (similar to Blendon or Highbanks), grass/hard mud, asphalt bike trail/road, wooden/composite bridges, and only a few technical hills w/ roots/rocks. It was a figure-eight course, with fluids at the start/finish and a well-stocked aid station with enthusiastic volunteers in the middle; we were never more than 2.6m away from aid. Very nice course for newbies.

The weather: Perfect! 55 at the start, 74 at the finish; mostly sunny with some welcome cloud cover during the mile-long dam crossing, light wind.

Running through the woods

My food/fluids:  I've been derailed by leg cramps and GI issues in previous races, so this year I'm trying Infinit, which is a powder supplement used by some of my Ironman friends. It's a personalized blend of carbs, proteins, electrolytes, and flavor which is intended to be the only source of calories/nutrition used during a long training ride/run or a race (vs. drinking Gatorade at aid stations and eating Gu gels or honey-stinger waffles).

Wore my 50oz/1.5liter Camelbak w/ water (refilled it 4 times) and carried hand-helds w/ concentrated Infinit (used my entire 7hr supply), peed once during the 1st loop. When my calves started tightening near the end of the 1st loop, I worried that there wasn't enough electrolyte in my Infinit to prevent cramps. Added Endurolyte Fizz tablets to Infinit in the rest of the hand-helds (4-5 tabs total)... I'll need to have more electrolytes added to my next order of Infinit, especially for summer biking/running. By the end of the 2nd loop, my mouth and hands were yucky sticky sweet from the Infinit - maybe I can also get the sweetness dialed down in the next blend (if it can be done w/o reducing calories). I snacked on grapes/strawberries/chips, not so much for the nutrition, but to put a new flavor in my mouth (they also had pretzels, PBJ sandwiches, cookies, and more). Overall, I had good energy and felt I drank enough water.


I ran the first 2 loops (and first 2m of the 3rd) w/ Mikaila; she understands how to pace these endurance races and she kept me from going out too fast. Eventually, I just needed to take off and so she sent me on my way. I walked up the hills, but ran nearly all of the last 2 loops. The bottoms of my feet were sore near the end but otherwise no pains and mercifully, no cramps.

My 4-loop course splits: 1:38:10, 1:38:42 (3:16:52 total), 1:41:58 (4:58:50 total), 1:32:17 (6:30:07 finish). I beat my 7:00:00 goal; Mikaila finished in just over 7 hours. We celebrated with delicious frosty-cold diet Cokes.

After!

Today, my legs are only a little bit stiff (no worse than after any other marathon and way better than after 22 Bigfoot miles). I would definitely do this race again! In fact, I'm going to convince my Running Buddies who are doing a Spring 2013 marathon to keep up their post-'thon mileage and do this ultra with me :)

Run the Edge

(from the 3-13-12 MIT mass email)

What an amazing weekend we had!





It was great to see so many of you at the presentation of Friday evening with Adam Goucher and Tim Catalano! If you missed it we will have a video posted on the MIT site in the next few days.



Tim and Adam were blown away by the group on Saturday. so much so, that they are hoping to come back again soon! They got to spend a good amount of time with many of you and they had nothing but great things to say about each of you!



So often we look towards Olympians, business executives, or historical figures as sources for inspiration. It is truly incredible that all of you are serving as a much greater inspiration for so many others. Tim and Adam left stating that they felt incredibly inspired to help spread the momentum that each of you exhibit everyday. Your journey is taking you to places you may not even realize. To think that you could not only change your life and change the lives of those around you, but also to change the perspective of people living a world apart. You truly are an inspiration! Keep up the great work!


(Now this is me!)
I have been following Kara Goucher's running career since the 2008 Olympic trials... watching her progress from the 10k to the marathon... returning to the marathon after giving birth to her son, Colt... and making the 2012 US Olympic team.




So when our local Fleet Feet store announced they were bringing Kara's husband, former Olympian Adam Goucher, and his University of Colorado teammate, Tim Catalano, to town for a couple of days, I looked forward to a brush with *my* kind of celebrity. Adam and Tim are promoting their new book, "Running the Edge," which explains how running can inspire us and transform our lives in numerous ways.


Fleet Feet held a limerick contest on Facebook - with the lucky four contestants receiving the most "likes" getting to go to dinner with the guys after their presentation Friday night. While the others wrote about nice limericks about the joys of running, I went straight for the heart of Mr. Kara Goucher:

"Welcome, Adam. Don't think I'm a dolt
When I say this, I hope you won't bolt
I'm happy you're here
I'll raise you my beer
But next time, bring Kara and Colt."

It sounds cliche, but I really had an awesome time! I asked Adam about Kara's training and he talked freely about her prep for this weekend's NYC Half Marathon, their plan to move to Mammoth next month so she and Shalane Flanagan (her training partner and fellow Olympian) can train at altitude, how far in advance of the Olympics the family will travel to London... I hung onto every word and tried to offer intelligent comments/ask serious questions. Tim and Adam have been buds since college and they eloquently shared their experiences and insights about running. And asked about ours. I met some new MIT friends and had an overall great evening.