"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
Lao-Tzu
This guy is an Iron Man if ever there was one!
Sick again
1 week ago
September 18, 2010
September 3, 2010
North Country Trail Marathon
I had originally planned on running the 50 mile when I registered for the North Country Trail Run back in early January, figuring it would be a good way to combine an ultra run on a new (for me) trail with a family visit in Michigan. Unfortunately, my winter taper led to a spring taper and a tweaked achilles, which led to a summer long taper while struggling with endless heat and humidity. Before I knew it, we were in the middle of August and I had managed only one 20+ mile run since running the 50 mile at Surf the Murph last October. Not enough for pulling off a 50. I emailed the RD and asked to switch to the marathon, but never heard anything back. As I was packing and getting ready to leave for the 2 day drive to Manistee, a message went up on the North Country facebook page stating that there would be no further changing of races. Crap. Quickly threw my "ultra stuff" into the car just in case and starting driving south east to get to North Country (that's not a typo).
Got to Manistee late Friday afternoon and headed over to the Big M trail head in the Manistee National Forest for packet pick up. Was able to confirm that I could just run the marathon after all (whew!) and picked up lots of swag: coffee mug, race shirt, polar fleece vest. This would also be the start and finish area for the race, so at least now I knew how to get there.
Woke up to an already warm (low 70's) and very humid morning and got to the start area just before sunrise. Trail and ultra runners are typically a pretty tight bunch, so it seemed very odd to be at a race and not know a single person. But, trail and ultra runners are also a very welcoming bunch, so it was no problem finding people to hang out and chat with. Everyone kept mentioning how difficult the hills are on this 25 mile loop course. It is also a popular mountain bike and cross country ski trail, all single track (my favorite).
The 50 milers took off, and we would be right behind them only 30 minutes later. This didn't make much sense to me: sending a herd of turtles down a narrow single track only 30 minutes before unleashing the hares on the same course probably got a little messy once the faster marathoners caught up to the slower ultra runners. Oh well, another good reason to run the marathon instead.
Before long, we were lined up and ready to go. We did a short little lap around the parking area to spread out a little before heading down the trail. My strategy was to treat this race as if it was a 50 miler: walk the ups, jog the flats and downs. Basically, a nice training run with no expectations of time or pace - just a fun day in the woods. With about 200 of us, we were like a freight train rolling through the woods for awhile. No sense trying to pass anyone - just relax until people get more spread out. I kept waiting for the huge, steep hills that people had warned me about, but they weren't showing up. Just a nice, smooth, somewhat twisty trail with gently rolling hills - kind of like Ice Age without the rocks.
Coming in to Aid Station 1
Since I was running with my Nathan, I cruised through the first 3 aid stations without stopping. Shortly after leaving aid station 3, we encountered the only somewhat steep hill that I remember on the entire course. I had to power walk this one, then realized that I had pretty much been running most of the hills rather than sticking to my plan. This is one of those "trail runners dream" type of trails - just flat out fun to run - and I found myself grinning like a village idiot cruising through the woods.
Shortly afterward, I took my first digger when my calf cramped up and I caught my toe on one of the few roots on the trail. I figured that I'd better pay more attention to fluid intake and S caps, even though I thought I was on target in that regard. Cramping after only 10 or so miles isn't a good thing, even in the shorter marathon race. The hills were neither big nor steep, but they were there and they were starting to catch up to me. Kind of like "death by a thousand razor blades" type of hills.
Aid Station 4
Made it to aid station 4 at the 13.4 mile mark when I realized that my Garmin had decided to take the rest of the weekend off. Oh well, I probably rely on it too much anyway. Now I could just forget about time, pace, distance, etc and enjoy my run. This was where I decided to refill my Nathan, and the aid station volunteers had funny looks on their faces as I pulled out a small baggie filled with white powder (Heed) and another small baggie with capsules containing an off white powder (S caps). Thankfully, I didn't have to explain to law enforcement that I was only going for a long run through the woods ;)
Back on down the trail in the beautiful forest, I noticed occasional thumps as acorns were hitting the ground. Started wondering if I was going to need a helmet - I think the squirrels were having a little game of their own to see how many runners they could hit....LOL. Time seemed to pass quickly and soon I was standing in aid station 5. Another runner was there too, warning about the upcoming monster hills. We headed out about the same time and chatted for a bit before she dropped off. I found the entire trail very runnable, but was still getting twinges in both calves and needed to slow down a bit just to prevent full blown cramping. Passed through aid station 6 and shortly afterward came upon more volunteers lugging coolers of food to aid station 7 located more than 3 miles away. That seemed very inefficient since the aid station they would be staffing was only a mile from the start/finish parking area, but that's what they were directed to do. Things that make ya go, "Hmmmm."
Caught up to a pair of women who had gotten off course and done some bonus miles, but they were still enjoying their day in the woods. We started talking about muscle cramping and one recommended trying coconut water as a remedy. Not coconut milk, but coconut water. I've never heard of it, but it might be worth a try.
Got through the last aid station and let the lone volunteer know that his relief was on the way, then headed down the trail for the short run to the finish. There was a nice, long, gentle downhill that seemed to go on forever (probably closer to 0.75 miles), then we eventually ended up on a two track. I took one last hard digger and left some blood in the forest - still not really sure what the heck tripped me up - but both calves locked up and it took a minute or two before I could continue. Was able to walk the cramps off, but decided to hold off on running until I could smell the finish line. I'm really gonna have to check out coconut water ;)
Finally made the trot across the finish line where we were given finishers medals and a bottle of water, then headed over to the barbecue for a freshly grilled burger and potato salad. I skipped the beer and desserts, but hung out for a little bit on what turned out to be a hotter than expected day (mid-80's and very humid). I'm glad I was able to drop down to the marathon because there's no way I would have pulled off a 50 miler on this day.
Thanks to first year RD Chris and his crew for taking over an established classic race so that the rest of us could have some fun in the woods! North Country is a good size race for a trail event (actually, 3 races: a 50 mile, marathon, and half marathon with a total of 600 runners on single track) and I don't think many people realize the time and energy it takes to pull these things off. The race organizers have already sent out a survey seeking feedback so that they can continue to improve the event in future years. The small army of volunteers were AWESOME! If you're looking for a non-technical trail with twists, turns, and roller coaster hills in a beautiful forest that are a pure joy to run, I highly recommend heading to Big M and running one of the North Country Trail races.
Got to Manistee late Friday afternoon and headed over to the Big M trail head in the Manistee National Forest for packet pick up. Was able to confirm that I could just run the marathon after all (whew!) and picked up lots of swag: coffee mug, race shirt, polar fleece vest. This would also be the start and finish area for the race, so at least now I knew how to get there.
Woke up to an already warm (low 70's) and very humid morning and got to the start area just before sunrise. Trail and ultra runners are typically a pretty tight bunch, so it seemed very odd to be at a race and not know a single person. But, trail and ultra runners are also a very welcoming bunch, so it was no problem finding people to hang out and chat with. Everyone kept mentioning how difficult the hills are on this 25 mile loop course. It is also a popular mountain bike and cross country ski trail, all single track (my favorite).
The 50 milers took off, and we would be right behind them only 30 minutes later. This didn't make much sense to me: sending a herd of turtles down a narrow single track only 30 minutes before unleashing the hares on the same course probably got a little messy once the faster marathoners caught up to the slower ultra runners. Oh well, another good reason to run the marathon instead.
Before long, we were lined up and ready to go. We did a short little lap around the parking area to spread out a little before heading down the trail. My strategy was to treat this race as if it was a 50 miler: walk the ups, jog the flats and downs. Basically, a nice training run with no expectations of time or pace - just a fun day in the woods. With about 200 of us, we were like a freight train rolling through the woods for awhile. No sense trying to pass anyone - just relax until people get more spread out. I kept waiting for the huge, steep hills that people had warned me about, but they weren't showing up. Just a nice, smooth, somewhat twisty trail with gently rolling hills - kind of like Ice Age without the rocks.
Coming in to Aid Station 1
Shortly afterward, I took my first digger when my calf cramped up and I caught my toe on one of the few roots on the trail. I figured that I'd better pay more attention to fluid intake and S caps, even though I thought I was on target in that regard. Cramping after only 10 or so miles isn't a good thing, even in the shorter marathon race. The hills were neither big nor steep, but they were there and they were starting to catch up to me. Kind of like "death by a thousand razor blades" type of hills.
Aid Station 4
Back on down the trail in the beautiful forest, I noticed occasional thumps as acorns were hitting the ground. Started wondering if I was going to need a helmet - I think the squirrels were having a little game of their own to see how many runners they could hit....LOL. Time seemed to pass quickly and soon I was standing in aid station 5. Another runner was there too, warning about the upcoming monster hills. We headed out about the same time and chatted for a bit before she dropped off. I found the entire trail very runnable, but was still getting twinges in both calves and needed to slow down a bit just to prevent full blown cramping. Passed through aid station 6 and shortly afterward came upon more volunteers lugging coolers of food to aid station 7 located more than 3 miles away. That seemed very inefficient since the aid station they would be staffing was only a mile from the start/finish parking area, but that's what they were directed to do. Things that make ya go, "Hmmmm."
Caught up to a pair of women who had gotten off course and done some bonus miles, but they were still enjoying their day in the woods. We started talking about muscle cramping and one recommended trying coconut water as a remedy. Not coconut milk, but coconut water. I've never heard of it, but it might be worth a try.
Got through the last aid station and let the lone volunteer know that his relief was on the way, then headed down the trail for the short run to the finish. There was a nice, long, gentle downhill that seemed to go on forever (probably closer to 0.75 miles), then we eventually ended up on a two track. I took one last hard digger and left some blood in the forest - still not really sure what the heck tripped me up - but both calves locked up and it took a minute or two before I could continue. Was able to walk the cramps off, but decided to hold off on running until I could smell the finish line. I'm really gonna have to check out coconut water ;)
Finally made the trot across the finish line where we were given finishers medals and a bottle of water, then headed over to the barbecue for a freshly grilled burger and potato salad. I skipped the beer and desserts, but hung out for a little bit on what turned out to be a hotter than expected day (mid-80's and very humid). I'm glad I was able to drop down to the marathon because there's no way I would have pulled off a 50 miler on this day.
Thanks to first year RD Chris and his crew for taking over an established classic race so that the rest of us could have some fun in the woods! North Country is a good size race for a trail event (actually, 3 races: a 50 mile, marathon, and half marathon with a total of 600 runners on single track) and I don't think many people realize the time and energy it takes to pull these things off. The race organizers have already sent out a survey seeking feedback so that they can continue to improve the event in future years. The small army of volunteers were AWESOME! If you're looking for a non-technical trail with twists, turns, and roller coaster hills in a beautiful forest that are a pure joy to run, I highly recommend heading to Big M and running one of the North Country Trail races.
August 7, 2010
Day of Deer
The heat and humidity have really wrecked my running plans this summer - enough that I will most likely be doing only the marathon at North Country at the end of this month. I just haven't been able to log the miles needed to pull off a 50 in three weeks. Seems like any time I went out with the intention of getting 20 or so miles in, I would end up pulling the plug after only 12-13 because I'd be so dehydrated I was cramping. Yesterday finally provided some relief!
I had only one early morning client yesterday, so I did the work thing at the gym and then headed out to Afton with the intention of getting a 20+ mile run in. Success! Two laps of the Africa Loop, Back 40, Northern Hill, and Campground Hill with no other people on the trail and more deer than I could count. Wish I had brought my camera - these photos are from a few years ago.
Saw the first doe and fawn less than a mile into the run while still on the main horse trail just past the ski area. Lots of butterflies in the open prairies up on the Africa Loop and lots of skeeters in the woods, especially the Back 40. Made the mandatory stops at the black berry patches (don't worry, I left some) before heading down to the river and starting the climb up the gravel road. About half way up, a spotted fawn popped out of the woods and stood in the middle of the road just staring my way. After a couple of minutes, there was some commotion in the thick underbrush and at least 3 or 4 other deer started to bolt deeper into the woods. Not the little fawn, he seemed quite content just watching me. A pileated woodpecker briefly joined the party, which seemed to help the fawn decide to go join mom in the woods.
Ran down the Northern Hill (which has become my favorite spot in the park) and then up to the Campground. For some reason, my Garmin went on a lunch break for awhile in this section, so I'm not sure what my actual mileage for the run was - at least 20.88. Refilled the Nathan at the solar powered water pump (which is now working), then visited the black berry patch in the campground before going for another lap.
The second lap was starting to feel hot, especially in the sun up on the Africa Loop. Even so, with the lower humidity I wasn't having any problems with cramping - yay! Paid another visit to the black berry patch and have some scratches to show for it :) Saw some blue birds this time around; they are so striking, just flashes of royal blue when they're flying. Ran back down to the river, back up the gravel road, then past the trail shelter on the way to the Northern Hill. Flushed up a bunch of grouse just past the old homestead, which never seems to happen on a weekend when lots of people are on the trails.
On the way up the Campground Hill, another doe started bounding off the trail and into the woods. A little further up the trail, I looked to the left to see two fawns staring back at me from about 20 feet away. They never did leave, and I just continued on through the campground. Finally got to the bottom of the Campground Hill just as several people were lugging their camping stuff up to the top - I guess the weekend is officially starting! I headed up toward the main horse trail to return to the parking area and just about got run over by three more deer bounding across the trail right in front of me. Pretty cool!
Finally made it back to a still empty parking lot and some how didn't seem to get stuck in too much rush hour traffic. Got home to find a $50 check in the mail from USA Track & Field for the prize money I'd won by finishing second in the old woman division at the Afton Trail Race. Great day for running!
Now I'll have to start pondering the rest of the season after North Country: Moose Mountain? Wild Duluth? Surf the Murph?
Ran down the Northern Hill (which has become my favorite spot in the park) and then up to the Campground. For some reason, my Garmin went on a lunch break for awhile in this section, so I'm not sure what my actual mileage for the run was - at least 20.88. Refilled the Nathan at the solar powered water pump (which is now working), then visited the black berry patch in the campground before going for another lap.
The second lap was starting to feel hot, especially in the sun up on the Africa Loop. Even so, with the lower humidity I wasn't having any problems with cramping - yay! Paid another visit to the black berry patch and have some scratches to show for it :) Saw some blue birds this time around; they are so striking, just flashes of royal blue when they're flying. Ran back down to the river, back up the gravel road, then past the trail shelter on the way to the Northern Hill. Flushed up a bunch of grouse just past the old homestead, which never seems to happen on a weekend when lots of people are on the trails.
On the way up the Campground Hill, another doe started bounding off the trail and into the woods. A little further up the trail, I looked to the left to see two fawns staring back at me from about 20 feet away. They never did leave, and I just continued on through the campground. Finally got to the bottom of the Campground Hill just as several people were lugging their camping stuff up to the top - I guess the weekend is officially starting! I headed up toward the main horse trail to return to the parking area and just about got run over by three more deer bounding across the trail right in front of me. Pretty cool!
Finally made it back to a still empty parking lot and some how didn't seem to get stuck in too much rush hour traffic. Got home to find a $50 check in the mail from USA Track & Field for the prize money I'd won by finishing second in the old woman division at the Afton Trail Race. Great day for running!
Now I'll have to start pondering the rest of the season after North Country: Moose Mountain? Wild Duluth? Surf the Murph?
July 25, 2010
Quick Updates
Afton State Park
Since it seems apparent that my upcoming races are hilly, it makes sense to start doing more concentrated hill work (ie repeats). Had some clients out of town last week, which provided an opportunity to get out to Hyland Hills ski area for an hour Tuesday morning. The humidity has been tough lately, but the legs felt pretty good.
Went out to Afton yesterday with the hope of getting a 20+ miler in on the hills, but I was absolutely starving after a few hours and pulled the plug at 13. The humidity was tough again yesterday too. I also gave Vespa a second try, although this time I was drinking Heed (slightly less concentrated than usual) rather than just plain water. It worked better than last time, but I'm still not sure if I'm sold on it. I've never had bonking problems with my regular routine of gels, coke, Heed, etc so it may not be worth messing with something that already works.
During my run yesterday I saw baby turkeys, a white tail doe who stood still and watched me go by from about 20 feet away without ever leaving, only 2 buzzards (neither of which were circling), and no snakes.
It was kinda weird being out at Afton for 3 hours and NOT seeing a single person that I knew. That's because everyone else was at Voyageur - congrats to those who toed the line or volunteered! Wish I could have been there with you!
I may regret posting this, but the blackberry patches are open for business. The Afton regulars know what I'm talking about ;)
Sorry about having to add comment moderation to this blog, but the Asian spam bots are getting to be ridiculous. Might be time to consider moving to WordPress.
July 6, 2010
Afton 25K 2010
These Afton Trail Races are getting to be a habit! This was the race where I really got hooked on trail running on a 100-degrees-and-ridiculously-humid day just 4 years ago. This year's race would also be hot and humid (low 90's) and my slowest to date. It's still the best party in town during the first weekend of July if you're a trail runner in Minnesota.
I have yet to get through the 25K loop without major cramping during this race (though I can pull off 20+ miles of hill repeats on other days without that problem). This year was no different. I guess you could say that the score thus far is:
Afton Trail Race - 4
Kel - 0
This year's course was tweaked slightly because of some trail closures, but I honestly think the new version is an improvement! The start is the same: run down a gravelly horse trail for almost a mile before climbing up to the Africa Loop (my eyes were already stinging with sweat pouring down my face at this point. Yeah, it was humid!). The "old down" is the "new up", so getting to the turn off takes up almost the first mile. Steve Q was there directing traffic to make sure nobody pulled a Surf the Murph (you know who you are - and I admit I'm guilty too).
As soon as I got up to the Africa Loop, I noticed about a dozen turkey vultures circling. I hate it when that happens, especially this early in a race. Tried to pick up the pace a little to discourage the buzzards, then descended down to the Back 40. Proceeded without stopping through AS 1, did the little ups and downs of the Back Forty, then refilled my hand held at AS 2. Back up to the Africa Loop for more relatively flat, open meadow running past the blackberry bushes; then a descent down a single track path that runs parallel to a creek. A short, easy, flat run back to where Steve was directing traffic, but this time we would run down towards the St. Croix River and AS 3. I decided to top off my hand held here even though I still had about half - this would turn out to be a good decision.
Started the long climb up a runnable gravel road towards more open meadows atop the bluffs. Instead of descending via Nigel's Hill, we were rerouted to the Northern Hill and a magnificent view of the St. Croix River valley (my favorite addition to the course). Thankfully, there was a nice breeze all day long or the open meadow runs would have been unbearably hot!
The Northern Hill drops out of the meadow and back into the woods with some steep downhill switchbacks, then pops out onto the (dreaded) Rail Trail for a short distance before we do a loop-de-do left turn that takes us under the railroad bridge and up the difficult Campground Hill. I love the smell of the pines near the top of the Campground Hill - makes it very tempting to linger ;)
The top of Campground Hill is an easy exposed run with more awesome views of the river valley, then a deceptively tricky descent back to AS 4. By now, I was starting to have some muscle twinges in my calves and knew I was getting a little dehydrated. Even though I was drinking well and taking S-Caps, I was sweating faster than I could reabsorb fluids. Refilled the hand held, had some orange slices, and was treated to the best tasting popsicle I've ever had! Gave me a good excuse to start the longer portion of the (dreaded) Rail Trail walking so I could eat my popsicle ;)
Finally got to the Meat Grinder, a short but albeit nasty climb back up to the top of the bluff. The new course trimmed a short section of somewhat meaningless trail in this section to make up for the changes earlier, so we were soon headed to the last AS shortly after reaching the top of Meat Grinder. Another refill (with some ice in the bottle this time), more orange slices, and I was off to the snowshoe loop. Nancy and I had been playing leap frog on the trail all day long, and we left this AS at about the same time.
The snowshoe loop is my favorite part of the course: narrow single track that can be tight and twisty. It was somewhat overgrown in places, so it could be difficult to see what you were about to step on (rocks, roots, snakes). It was also loaded with poison ivy encroaching upon the path in some places. I was having noticeable problems with cramping by now and would have to slow to a walk even when I had the energy to run.
Finally made it out to the last little bit of trail that parallels the state park road towards the start/finish area. Made the final left hand turn towards the finish chute - the line was probably less than 100 feet away - when both of my legs cramped and I was stopped dead in my tracks. Thought for a minute that I was going to have to lay down and roll across that flippin' finish line, but was finally able to hobble home. My slowest Afton Trail 25K ever, but still a blast seeing everyone out there and sharing a good part of the trail with Nancy and Mike.
Now comes the really funny part!
This year's Afton race was also the first ever USA Track and Field Minnesota Trail Championships. Prize money would be awarded to the first 3 finishers who were also USATF-MN members (this would be a key factor) in the open and masters categories for men and women in both the 25K and 50K races. In fact, RD John mentioned at the start of the race that the prize money would be enough to retire in the Bahamas :)
Those of you who've run with me know that I am slow enough to be in peril of showing up to a race and getting a bib that says "maintenance" instead of a number. I've already told you about the buzzards. So imagine my surprise after spending a few hours at the finish socializing and eating cheeseburgers when one of the USATF reps asked me if I wanted my check sent to the address that was on file with my membership. I was second fastest old woman and scored $50! In reality, I was about 20'th fastest old woman, but only 1 of the 19 in front of me were USATF members. Bahamas, here I come! Hehehe.
Many thanks to John, Alicia, and all of the volunteers that make this event as awesome as it is! And thanks to Nancy and Mike for sharing a good portion of the trail with me during this year's race! Looking forward to spending more time with all of you out on the trails!
I have yet to get through the 25K loop without major cramping during this race (though I can pull off 20+ miles of hill repeats on other days without that problem). This year was no different. I guess you could say that the score thus far is:
Afton Trail Race - 4
Kel - 0
This year's course was tweaked slightly because of some trail closures, but I honestly think the new version is an improvement! The start is the same: run down a gravelly horse trail for almost a mile before climbing up to the Africa Loop (my eyes were already stinging with sweat pouring down my face at this point. Yeah, it was humid!). The "old down" is the "new up", so getting to the turn off takes up almost the first mile. Steve Q was there directing traffic to make sure nobody pulled a Surf the Murph (you know who you are - and I admit I'm guilty too).
As soon as I got up to the Africa Loop, I noticed about a dozen turkey vultures circling. I hate it when that happens, especially this early in a race. Tried to pick up the pace a little to discourage the buzzards, then descended down to the Back 40. Proceeded without stopping through AS 1, did the little ups and downs of the Back Forty, then refilled my hand held at AS 2. Back up to the Africa Loop for more relatively flat, open meadow running past the blackberry bushes; then a descent down a single track path that runs parallel to a creek. A short, easy, flat run back to where Steve was directing traffic, but this time we would run down towards the St. Croix River and AS 3. I decided to top off my hand held here even though I still had about half - this would turn out to be a good decision.
Started the long climb up a runnable gravel road towards more open meadows atop the bluffs. Instead of descending via Nigel's Hill, we were rerouted to the Northern Hill and a magnificent view of the St. Croix River valley (my favorite addition to the course). Thankfully, there was a nice breeze all day long or the open meadow runs would have been unbearably hot!
The Northern Hill drops out of the meadow and back into the woods with some steep downhill switchbacks, then pops out onto the (dreaded) Rail Trail for a short distance before we do a loop-de-do left turn that takes us under the railroad bridge and up the difficult Campground Hill. I love the smell of the pines near the top of the Campground Hill - makes it very tempting to linger ;)
The top of Campground Hill is an easy exposed run with more awesome views of the river valley, then a deceptively tricky descent back to AS 4. By now, I was starting to have some muscle twinges in my calves and knew I was getting a little dehydrated. Even though I was drinking well and taking S-Caps, I was sweating faster than I could reabsorb fluids. Refilled the hand held, had some orange slices, and was treated to the best tasting popsicle I've ever had! Gave me a good excuse to start the longer portion of the (dreaded) Rail Trail walking so I could eat my popsicle ;)
Finally got to the Meat Grinder, a short but albeit nasty climb back up to the top of the bluff. The new course trimmed a short section of somewhat meaningless trail in this section to make up for the changes earlier, so we were soon headed to the last AS shortly after reaching the top of Meat Grinder. Another refill (with some ice in the bottle this time), more orange slices, and I was off to the snowshoe loop. Nancy and I had been playing leap frog on the trail all day long, and we left this AS at about the same time.
The snowshoe loop is my favorite part of the course: narrow single track that can be tight and twisty. It was somewhat overgrown in places, so it could be difficult to see what you were about to step on (rocks, roots, snakes). It was also loaded with poison ivy encroaching upon the path in some places. I was having noticeable problems with cramping by now and would have to slow to a walk even when I had the energy to run.
Finally made it out to the last little bit of trail that parallels the state park road towards the start/finish area. Made the final left hand turn towards the finish chute - the line was probably less than 100 feet away - when both of my legs cramped and I was stopped dead in my tracks. Thought for a minute that I was going to have to lay down and roll across that flippin' finish line, but was finally able to hobble home. My slowest Afton Trail 25K ever, but still a blast seeing everyone out there and sharing a good part of the trail with Nancy and Mike.
Now comes the really funny part!
This year's Afton race was also the first ever USA Track and Field Minnesota Trail Championships. Prize money would be awarded to the first 3 finishers who were also USATF-MN members (this would be a key factor) in the open and masters categories for men and women in both the 25K and 50K races. In fact, RD John mentioned at the start of the race that the prize money would be enough to retire in the Bahamas :)
Those of you who've run with me know that I am slow enough to be in peril of showing up to a race and getting a bib that says "maintenance" instead of a number. I've already told you about the buzzards. So imagine my surprise after spending a few hours at the finish socializing and eating cheeseburgers when one of the USATF reps asked me if I wanted my check sent to the address that was on file with my membership. I was second fastest old woman and scored $50! In reality, I was about 20'th fastest old woman, but only 1 of the 19 in front of me were USATF members. Bahamas, here I come! Hehehe.
Many thanks to John, Alicia, and all of the volunteers that make this event as awesome as it is! And thanks to Nancy and Mike for sharing a good portion of the trail with me during this year's race! Looking forward to spending more time with all of you out on the trails!
June 27, 2010
Playin' In the Dirt
It's been a fun weekend!
The recent torrential rains meant that the local running trails were good and muddy (though not as much as I'd expected) - perfect time to put on the Vibram Five Fingers and head over to Hyland! Did a 6 mile loop, left some foot prints that will probably have some folks scratching their heads, and got dirty enough that I needed to hose off before entering the house. Success :)
Finally got around to planting some flowers this weekend too. Since I got my feet and legs nice and dirty with trail running, I figured I should even things out a bit and get my hands and arms in on the action. Nice to finally have a little color on the patio!
I am in no shape to do any damage at Afton next weekend, but will still plod along the course and visit with old and new friends at the post race bar-b-que. If you've never run a trail race before, this is an awesome event. You'll get spoiled by the aid stations, which put out spreads that are like Thanksgiving feasts. The race shirts are becoming a local legend, and the people are awesome! So is the course, though it will have some minor tweaks this year due to trail closures. Looking forward to being there, even if I embarrass myself running-wise. Hope to see ya there!
The recent torrential rains meant that the local running trails were good and muddy (though not as much as I'd expected) - perfect time to put on the Vibram Five Fingers and head over to Hyland! Did a 6 mile loop, left some foot prints that will probably have some folks scratching their heads, and got dirty enough that I needed to hose off before entering the house. Success :)
Finally got around to planting some flowers this weekend too. Since I got my feet and legs nice and dirty with trail running, I figured I should even things out a bit and get my hands and arms in on the action. Nice to finally have a little color on the patio!
I am in no shape to do any damage at Afton next weekend, but will still plod along the course and visit with old and new friends at the post race bar-b-que. If you've never run a trail race before, this is an awesome event. You'll get spoiled by the aid stations, which put out spreads that are like Thanksgiving feasts. The race shirts are becoming a local legend, and the people are awesome! So is the course, though it will have some minor tweaks this year due to trail closures. Looking forward to being there, even if I embarrass myself running-wise. Hope to see ya there!
June 6, 2010
Hills of Afton
I've been getting out to Afton State Park for some hill training about once per week for the last month. Hoo boy, am I ever out of shape! Unfortunately, there's only one way to fix that ;)
As many of the Afton regulars know, two of our favorite trails are closed this year: Nigel's Hill and Horse Shit Hill (the trail leading up to Africa Loop on the 25K race course). I never knew the name of that hill, and I'm not sure it's official, but Tom & Nancy told me about it this morning and it fits - so Horse Shit Hill it is from now on. This means that the Afton race will have a slightly tweaked course this year - I'm sure we'll be hearing about the official changes on the brand spankin' new Afton Trail Run blog. I ran what I figured would be the new route: up to Africa from the "down" direction, then instead of Nigel's Hill I took the trail at the far north end of the park, which has a stunning view of the St. Croix River valley. Rumor has it that a little loop later in the course will be dropped - I think this new course may actually turn out even better than the regular course!
I've also been experimenting a bit with electrolytes/nutrition/sports drinks. In the past, I've had problems with muscle cramping and never could find a truly reliable strategy. I had been taking one S-cap per hour which sometimes seemed to work and sometimes didn't. I was starting to think that perhaps it wasn't really sodium depletion, but perhaps a magnesium deficiency, so I've been taking 200 mg of magnesium glycinate every day for the last few months. So far, no cramping problems, even when only drinking plain water and not taking any S-caps or any type of electrolytes at all during my runs (which have so far only lasted a few hours). Been sleeping better too!
Today I tried a newish supplement called Vespa, which supposedly encourages your body to rely more on fat metabolism instead of carbs, therefore sparing glycogen and decreasing lactic acid buildup. I drank only water so I could eliminate carbs from the equation to test the "bonk" factor. I have to say, I felt like I was running on fumes trudging up the last hill at Afton today (I only went about 11 miles) - can't really say I'm sold on Vespa, though I've only tried it once. I'll probably stick with my prior strategy of sports drinks and gels for the time being.
Hope you are all enjoying the trails!
As many of the Afton regulars know, two of our favorite trails are closed this year: Nigel's Hill and Horse Shit Hill (the trail leading up to Africa Loop on the 25K race course). I never knew the name of that hill, and I'm not sure it's official, but Tom & Nancy told me about it this morning and it fits - so Horse Shit Hill it is from now on. This means that the Afton race will have a slightly tweaked course this year - I'm sure we'll be hearing about the official changes on the brand spankin' new Afton Trail Run blog. I ran what I figured would be the new route: up to Africa from the "down" direction, then instead of Nigel's Hill I took the trail at the far north end of the park, which has a stunning view of the St. Croix River valley. Rumor has it that a little loop later in the course will be dropped - I think this new course may actually turn out even better than the regular course!
I've also been experimenting a bit with electrolytes/nutrition/sports drinks. In the past, I've had problems with muscle cramping and never could find a truly reliable strategy. I had been taking one S-cap per hour which sometimes seemed to work and sometimes didn't. I was starting to think that perhaps it wasn't really sodium depletion, but perhaps a magnesium deficiency, so I've been taking 200 mg of magnesium glycinate every day for the last few months. So far, no cramping problems, even when only drinking plain water and not taking any S-caps or any type of electrolytes at all during my runs (which have so far only lasted a few hours). Been sleeping better too!
Today I tried a newish supplement called Vespa, which supposedly encourages your body to rely more on fat metabolism instead of carbs, therefore sparing glycogen and decreasing lactic acid buildup. I drank only water so I could eliminate carbs from the equation to test the "bonk" factor. I have to say, I felt like I was running on fumes trudging up the last hill at Afton today (I only went about 11 miles) - can't really say I'm sold on Vespa, though I've only tried it once. I'll probably stick with my prior strategy of sports drinks and gels for the time being.
Hope you are all enjoying the trails!
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