Greenland 25k : Putting the Non-Plan to the Test

Two years ago, after a second straight implosion on lap 2 of the Greenland 25k, I swore off this race.  However, like a moth to a flame, early spring had my mind wandering to this race and possibly taking another stab at it with more focused workouts.  This race has had everything in the past - howling wind, snowstorms, exposed baking heat - and year after year, it sells out.  Derek and all the folks over at Colorado Runner Events put on an excellent event, which lends to the appeal as well.  This year, with an increased registration of 1000 runners, it sold out later than the previous two but still was full prior to registration closing.  With the increased cap also came staggered starts for the 3 distances - this was a relief because the 550 runner mass start in 2010 was harsh, and I could not have imagined a 1000 runner stampede to start!

What a view to start the race!

Race Central - almost time.

Unlike previous years that I have run this, we showed up to Greenland about an hour prior to the race start to blue sky, relatively warm, and NOT WINDY conditions - hmmm?  While I know that most racer types relish frigid temps to start a race, I was completely OK with this scenario, especially sans-wind.  When I hopped in line for packet pick up, I got to chat for about 10 minutes with Mr Ace, which is always a pleasant way to start the day!  This guy is a spring of enthusiasm, and was getting ready for his second 50k in seven days with badly blistered feet - wow!  

Anyway, got my bib and went back to the car to get pinned up, put the chip on the shoe, and get in line for the "facilities".  Uh, oh.  The waiting line for the cans ended up being over 15 minutes, which ended any chance of getting a warmup run in.  I'm not sure about logistics or park regs for Greenland, but I am not sure 10 portalets adequately cover 1000 racers....  I wormed my way in to the front area of the start with 3 minutes to spare.  I was lucky - keep reading.

Massing at the start

And they're off - stampede at the start - I was about 8 deep at the start, which was good!

Eventual winner and new CR Daniel Kraft had to pass everyone coming out

of the parking area - we surmise he got stuck in the potty line too long!

LOL on that one - Kathleen remembered seeing this kid hauling onto the course after everyone was across the mat!  I noticed him pulling through because he reminded me of a twenty something Scott Jurek - floppy curly hair and smooth as silk stride.  He blazed a 1:34:38 which blows my mind.  

Now back to the race in front of me.  Start was hopping as expected, but I have a patience problem with wading through people and I always worry about getting tripped, rolling an ankle, going to jail for punching someone who keeps stepping on my shoes, and so forth....  So after about 3/4 mile I had to tune it down a bit as there is no way these legs are rolling 7's for 25k :)  By about 2.5 miles, I had settled in to my comfort zone and started to, for the first time, look around and enjoy the scenery.  Given the vast open expanses here and the complete lack of any shade, Greenland Open Space still has its charm.

Looking over to Spruce Mountain Open Space

Coming off the hill toward the end of the first loop and feeling good.

I hit the top of Kipps Loop climb about on target at 7:49ish pace, and dropped in for the first screaming descent off the back side.  I kept it reeled in a bit given the past experiences of Lap 2 doom.  However, with the turnover I have been doing this spring and my legs being used to better pace, "reeled in" ended up being 6:50 - 7:05 pace, which is newer territory for a comfortable running pace but felt good.  There were already quite a few 50k runners mixed in with the line by this point but I could tell from posture and body language who I was racing with.  The folks with the "I will be out in this exposure for another 3 or 4 hours" look were pretty obvious.  And it was getting warm.

I made the turn at I am guessing 59 and change, though the chip splits aren't up on the Greenland page yet (hope they will be), and grabbed a cup of Heed at the aid station before crossing the mat and starting Lap 2.  I have been pretty dialed on hydration and seemed to be doing really well as far as that goes.  Lap 2 is kind of tricky as the gradual climb back on Greenland trail to the pond starts to tell you where the legs are.  Then the sharp climb over the ridge from the pond twists that down a bit and you must concentrate on regaining some turnover before the second trip up Kipps.  I flagged a bit on mojo here and had to wrap my head around the task at hand.  Unlike past years, I was still running fluid and no signs of blowing up.  Progress.

Got to the aid spot at the base of the climb hoping for a Heed cup but the tanks.were.dry.  "Can you hang on a minute while we're mixing?"  Um, like, I am racing here....  So I grabbed a water cup, drank half, and tossed the other half over my head.  The breeze we had to start had completely ceased and the second time up Kipps with the overhead sun was definitely warm.  Felt bad for the 50k folks to go two more rounds on that - ouch.   Took my last gel about 4 minutes from the top of Kipps - one of my bigger mistakes was not having a couple more gels - and I knew I had to grind one out of the legs to push over the top.  Ended up about 1:20 slower on the second time through the climb, which is a good sign.  However, I hit the crest and started running calculations on some "silent" goals I had.  Sketchy, but I spent a lot of time preparing for it, so I decided it was all or nothing.  A younger guy I had been running with for a good portion of the time drug me over the top and we picked our way through the eternal line of 50k runners on the back side.  We had traded some chatter earlier but were in red light zone at this point.  He asked me to pull through as he was not sure what he had left, so I did - but realistically I didn't know either.  I told him that I was going for broke, but might see him again...  

   

Smelling the Barn - mission almost accomplished.

There were a lot of runners to pick through the entire way down the backside descent, most of them 50k folks in damage control mode with the quickly mounting heat.  At one point I was hitting sub 6 paces and knew this was simply not in my sustainable range.  However, in the heat of the moment, the brain doesn't function like that!  By the time I hit the turn off the Kipps Loop to the main drag for the last .9 miles my fleeting dream of sub-2 Hours was all but gone.  I have no business running a 6:05 mile (and I am OK with that) and it was going to take that from my fuzzy-brained calculators but still I rolled.  Three quarters out, for the first time all day, one of those neural twinges hit my left calf.  Then two hit my right.  Why Me?  I almost said it out loud, but tried to push through.  Then it hit, at one half mile out, my right toes curled under my foot in a ball and I almost toppled.  I pulled off trail, unable to move my foot, and desperately dug both thumbs into the ball of twisted mass that was my right calf and pushed them all the way to the bone.  Within what I guess to be about twenty seconds I was hobbling, then running gingerly, then flogging for my life!  I vaguely remember my young friend going by screaming at me to get up and run - and I thanked him at the finish.  I pulled in behind him for the last half and he shouted "Not a word - I am this close (holding up his thumb and finger about a quarter inch apart) to having both calves ball up and I am hanging on..."  

And so I rolled in at 2:00:48, nearly a 10 minute PR and quite a satisfying day.  The barely structured training program I had concocted worked well and the efforts of the previous 2 months paid off.  The strong second lap and all out finish vanquished those lingering demons this race had left me with in the past.  Granted, in those previous years, I had no training schedule to speak of and really expected more than I had worked for.  This year was different.  For someone in their 40's who is mostly a 3 day per week runner, I would say that I have to be ecstatic with where I ended up.  And I planned the peaking pretty well too.  A month ago, I ran a two lap trainer here and yesterday took another 13 seconds per mile off that effort.  So I am happy.  And now I do not have anything hanging over my head about Greenland, which is OK by me.  Unless the flame draws me in...again...  (Or when Kathleen is recovered and decides to go for the Masters Women's win there :) )

Here are the numbers, for those who must know:

2:00:48 

22nd overall, 5th masters 

7:47 per mile if you use raw 25k, or 7:45 if you use the race's advertised distance of 15.56 miles

               BTW, I ran good tangents - Garmin showed 15.57

1987 calories burned  ( I only ate 300 during - oops)

1380' elevation gain - pretty "flat" for out here

73 degrees, 7% humidity at my finish time - that's right Midwesterners/Southerners - single digit humidity

Shoes: Saucony Kinvara2 

We finally got to meet Craig and his family after the race, and hung out for a while chatting up race recap, future trail runs, etc. - Good Times!  Craig and his son both won awards - sweet!  After that, we got to run into the entire "Ace" clan in the parking lot, including Mrs Ace, the kiddos, and the rest of the family who were visiting from Montana - pretty neat!  We stayed for a bit to see some of the front 50k runners come in.  We were absolutely stunned when Peter Maksimow came in at just over 3:22 for a new course record - 5 of the 6 CR's fell yesterday, even with the heat.  We were hoping to see Brad finish before heading out and he rolled in with an awesome sub-4 hour finish.  Good day all around! 

Oh - and forget Gluten-Free for a minute,
Kathleen insisted - Black Forest Roulade Was Mandatory!

Finally a race Report - Run Crazy Horse Half Marathon

Last Sunday, we got up at the crack of dawn - on vacation no less - and joined about 900 other folks headed up toward Crazy Horse Memorial outside of Custer, South Dakota for the second edition of Run Crazy Horse, a full and half marathon event.  We were on schedule to meet up with Kathleen's dad and his wife in the Black Hills for a little family time, sight seeing and R&R - surprisingly this area is almost exactly the same distance from their place in Iowa as it is from our place in Colorado - cool.  There was a twist, however, a couple weeks out we were searching (as always) for trail beta and info on the Hill City area where we would be staying.  Wouldn't you know it, up pops an ad for Run Crazy Horse - 2 days left until registration closes.  And, the finish line is a quarter mile from our hotel....  And, I might add as she might leave it out, Kathleen was really starting to feel almost herself again - good time to race, right???  So we inquired with the folks as to whether there were any objections with a short interruption to the vacation time for a little race action.  None.  So we threw our names in the hat, so to speak.  We didn't realize it until we got there, but they were actually a bit excited to see some of the race and hang out at the finish line to watch for us, so that got us more excited about racing.  Now that we're home and free of an old laptop trying to get wifi in the hotel, it is time for the full write up!!

We were a little sketchy on details for the start area of the race, but knew the majority was to be run on the Mickelson Trail, which we have run and ridden parts of when we were there in 2007.  This is a sweet multi-use DIRT (this was the key to signing up!!) trail that runs 109 miles from Edgemont, SD to Deadwood, SD, and features spectacular scenery, such as the photos below which we took on our walk the following morning:

Stream and pasture along Mickelson

Changing colors

Race action photo from the website

We knew also from the photo above that we were starting on the entrance road into the memorial and that there would be some climb at the start, which is always good for us when competing against road runners :)  As for the rest of the puzzle to the course, we were in the dark until the Lakota Indians started the drums and singing to get us off and running.  This may get long, so skip down if you are bored, but you'll get the race from both our perspectives - grab a coffee and cinnamon roll ;-)


Steve's Race:  As I had noted a couple posts back, in August I realized that a summer of long trail runs had possibly left a gap in the fitness and we started logging some "tempo" miles on one run weekly.  While this in no way qualified as "training" for a half marathon, I was quietly hopeful that some of the work would pay dividends in the race.  Because of that, I was a wee bit nervous pre-race as I had some goal tiers I had been sorting through in my mind, based upon last year's results, some of my recent runs, ... and some smoke and mirrors calculations.  Now, if you regularly look at this blog, you know I am not a huge racer.  Tim harasses me about this, but I live with it :)  This is not necessarily a lack of competitive drive as much as it is aversion to pain.  If I enter a race, it is to race.  It is okay if that is not the case for everyone, but for me it is for pushing myself hard.  So in the past, I have often raced over my head (and fitness level) and suffered badly post race.  I guess everyone does, so deal with it, right?  So we're off....

Miles 1-4 Setting myself up  The start ended up being straight downhill on pavement, not my cup of tea.  There were about 50 to 60 people ahead of me belting out sub 6 minute pace - too rich for my blood.  So I held back a bit and as we topped the first hill on the road, we made a sharp right onto a nasty dirt road.  Up hill, big loose rocks.  I passed 30 or so people in a 3/4 mile stretch - nice - level the playing field a bit.  We then got back on the paved road for a half mile to the visitor center, and made a left again onto the dirt road toward the base of Crazy Horse.  I was pegging a guy that looked exactly like George, who I had eavesdropped at the start area talking to his friends about wanting to run right around 7's - ambitious, but it seemed comfortable for those first miles.  We made a figure eight out to a turn point, then doubled back to the start area.  There were about 4 significant hills and they enabled me to stake out my position for most of the race - weird how that works so early.  At the turn, I was counting bibs - just watching for the maroon half marathoners.  Eight bibs.  What?  Am I in too deep already???  We had to go down the paved exit road out to the highway, make a left into the dirt parking area, and then switchback down onto Mickelson.  I passed "George" and  I was in the clear.  After a brief ways in on Mickelson, we pass the 4 mile marker.  My numerical position would not change from there - but I had no way of knowing that this early.  I glanced at the Garmin for the first time - I was averaging 7:10 pace.

Miles 5 - 10 Long stretches and concentration  During the next 6 miles, mental and physical met and the long steady churning that is not common to a lot of our running came into play.  There was a shirtless guy in front of me about a quarter mile along with the lead woman, and Larry (the George look-alike) had dropped behind me a ways, but I could hear him occasionally talking to another runner.  I never once looked behind me the entire race, which is odd.  Around mile 7.5, Larry and his pal Eric came up along side me and chatted for a while.  They were taking the bit pretty hard, so I decided to hold my pace.  Two spots down.  These miles had many long stretches where you could easily see half mile or more ahead and so I watched as they passed shirtless man, and then Larry gradually pulled away from Eric.  But for miles, I could now see three guys ahead.  At mile 9, I checked the dashboard on the Enterprise for an update - 7:04 average.  It dawned on me that I had now been running for quite a stretch at near and/or sub-7 pace and had not had a leg fall off or any major red lights.  I was nervous and pumped at the same time.  Almost in La-La land, until I fumbled my last S-cap and watched it drop in the dirt, then I snapped back to reality rather quickly...

Miles 11 - 13.1 Smelling the barn and running on fumes  Right after mile 10.5 or so, I noticed a change in the demeanor of shirtless man.  I was in pretty deep on pace, but I decided to throw in a bit of a surge and see if I could dent his lead.  At mile 11, I was 10 steps from him and realized he appeared to be of my "vintage" so to speak.  I got a little jello-legged and knew I had to try to separate from him.  I don't know much about race etiquette, but I felt sort of bad when I pulled up along his right side and tossed a casual "How's it going?" his way.  He was in a bad patch so I pulled through.  For the next mile and a half, I made a concerted effort to push it down around mid 6:40's to see if I could create a gap but I never totally lost the sound of his steps.  At 12 we passed a guy who had been out front in the first 4 spots last I saw him - he blew up in a bad way and was walking it in - poor guy.  So I was back on par with my placing with a little over a mile.  At mile 12.5 I was starting to burn fumes and the trail had leveled, then started a slight rise toward town.  I figured I was over 80 minutes in and had not much left to run, so I just buried my head and held it down as long as I could.  There were tons of folk out cheering people in which was really awesome but it was all going by as a blur at this point.  I made the hard left turn up the embankment to the road, then the right turn onto Main street and I could see the finish line - it was downhill, which was a relief.  I did not want to look back, so I spent what I had left to the finish line.  1:31:58 official time, I held a 7:01 average for 13.1 miles - holy cow!  Jarrett (shirtless man) finished only 17 seconds behind me - very close.  And he's 47, so also in the Masters.  Sorry pal, but I had to do it!!! :)  The pass at 11.5 earned me the Masters win, which I will take any day of the week, especially since it may never happen again!  I had secretly hoped for a 1:35:xx - and far exceeded that, which made my head spin for a bit.  I had a blast, it hurt, I was spent, but it was worth every one of those 91.8 minutes!  The time on the clock made my day.  What I saw six minutes later made my year....

And now Kathleen's commentary:
To sum it all up - it was a GREAT day!  Not only was I in awesome company with Steve and Dad and J, we had comfortably cool and sunny 8:00 am start, and best of all, I was/am feeling like I am finally on the comeback trail, healthwise.  My doc has continued to reassure me over these past 7 or 8 months that I indeed would return to a semblance of normalcy.  About 5 or 6 weeks ago, finally, the "switch flipped".  We had started to do some tempo work on the Santa Fe Trail, a smooth gravel, slightly rolling path, a few months ago.  Well, for Steve it was tempo.  For me, it was a place to just find a more steady running effort rather than the constant up and downs of our local singletrack trail runs which seemed to take more out of me physically.  There were many a weekend where I struggled to put one foot in front of the other on those trail runs.  Steve asked me quite a number of times, "Why do you keep torturing yourself?".  My answer always was, "I have to give it a go because this could be the day where things turn around and the switch finally flips."  And so it went, weekend after weekend, month after month - maybe this would be the one day where the switch finally flipped.  Sure, I had some decent, ok days but no truly normal, fully good days.  No one other than Steve got to see me in all my non-glorious 'miserableness'. There were quite a few boo-hoo moments, mourning what had been lost and wondering if there was a genuine chance of regaining at least some of it.

  So back to the tempo-ish runs on Santa Fe.  At first, I was struggling to average 9 minute miles over an eight mile run, which ironically, felt like I was flying compared to the 10's, 11's, and 12's I was doing per mile around my initial Graves diagnosis. Then, out of the blue one weekend, I hit an 8:40 average.  Hmmm, is this an anomaly?  Then, the next weekend, I hit an 8:14 average.  Really?  No way.  Can it be true?  I hadn't been able to even sniff 8's with all I was worth but here it was, almost within reach.  I was hardly allowing myself to hope.....  but maybe the switch had finally flipped???  Long story short, the runs turned into tempos.  I was actually able to push my body instead of my body pushing me around.  I hit 8:04 the next week and then!!!  a 7:54 the next week!  Really???  I've held steady at 7:45's the last few weeks, which I'm good with, but admittedly am a bit greedy - I want 7:35.  Back to Run Crazy Horse.......

This race was to serve as a celebration of life and health.  My "goal time" was 1:45 based on nothing other than pulling it out of thin air.  My secret finish time, in my heart of hearts, was 1:39:xx, again, based on nothing other than it sounded better than 1:45.  It was fun milling around in the Crazy Horse Memorial Visitor Center beforehand, checking out all of the intriguing history as well as listening to all the pre-race chatter.  We heard, quite a few times, folks dreading the "hilly" starter loop.  Ahem.  We also heard people lamenting how "slow" the gravel trail was to run on and how the gravel was hard on the feet.  We just smiled to ourselves - it sounded perfect!  :-)

The native American drums sent us off at the start, again, a glorious bluebird, perfect temperature morning.  The herd set off in one big amoeba but then quickly started to string out over the immediate rolling hills.  We did an approximate 3 mile figure eight loop around the base of Crazy Horse on a mix of paved and gravel roads before connecting over to the gravel and wonderful Mickelson Trail.  I settled into a nice steady pace and timed it right to run alongside the eventual 2nd place woman, Nicki.  Nicki ended up being a lovely young woman - we did a fair amount of chatting those first miles.  Lots of fun and a funny moment, too.  We were running stride for stride and got reports from the various bystanders that we were the 3rd and 4th women. Part of our conversation went something like this:

She asked:  So how old are you?
Me:  44.  How old are you?
Nicki:  24.  Holy Cow!  Are you really 44?
Me:  Yep but only for another month or so.
Nicki:  Wow.  I hope when I am 44, I look as good and am as strong as you!


LOL!  She was paying me a very lovely compliment but a realization hit me - I am now one of "those" - one of the OLD girls - on the verge of needing to be put out to pasture - how did this happen???!!!  I am old enough to be her mother!!!  :-)  Wasn't I just 24 and young looking, um, yesterday???  I'll have to ask Steve... how and when did this happen?  It made me smile.



We did a girly knuckle knock, happy we wouldn't be competing against each other in terms of age categories.  At just over 4 miles, she started to gain a half step on me, then it was a full step, then two.  Dang those 24 year old legs and lungs.  I told her to have a great race and that I hoped to see her at the finish.  She smiled and slowly started to pull away.  I was completely content and comfortable and was just trying to concentrate on keeping a steady, sustainable up-tempo run.  As you are aware, the  Happy Trails duo aren't exactly the racing veterans, so some focused  effort was definitely on tap.


At just over 5 miles, I was passed by another gal who had been lurking behind Nicki and I since the start.  Again, I was completely ok with that, happy as a lark figuratively skipping merrily down the trail, and just settled into running my own pace and race.  There weren't many people around me at this point - I think I was hovering in the neighborhood of 4 or 5 men but that's it.  The course was beautiful and peaceful.  Most of the first 8 miles or so were almost completely shaded by yellow and orange aspen trees and pine trees.  It was a glorious setting and I just settled in with the guys and enjoyed the moment.  I fully expected to be passed by more women as I was running as 5th woman at this point and the trail was fairly flat to slightly downhill with a few rollers thrown in until the finish.  The miles ticked by and I never lost complete sight of the 4th woman.  At mile 9, I was starting to feel minor effects of the faster than normal Mrs. Happy Trails pace but it was still all good.  My mantra was, "just stay steady" and "do what you can with what you have".  The last few miles, I started to VERY SLOWLY pull back a bit of time on the 4th woman.  I began to wonder whether I could really pull her back and was astonished, too, that no other women had passed me. I was waiting but they never came. Is this for real???  I didn't have a clue who was behind other than a couple of the men I had managed to ease past. 


The last half mile or so was down the middle of Main Street into Hill City.  Lots of smiling and cheering people lined the street.  I couldn't quite motivate the legs to move fast enough to catch 4th woman although I came close - she ended up 4 seconds in front of me.  I didn't care.  I was ecstatic.  1:37:52 - 7:29 pace.  A time like that was beyond my wildest dreams in mid-August.  It just wasn't possible.  Not only did I end up feeling fantastic physically, I was excited and elated to know that Steve had run so well, too.  I had watched him run near the front on the starter loop and based upon my good time, was assured he had a good time, as well.  Ecstatic all the way around.

A happy Happy Trails duo

For me, this race signaled a return to health, at least for awhile.  From here, I may or may not be able to improve upon my overall fitness - time will tell.  Because my thyroid levels have been fairly steady these past 2 months, my body is starting the process of repairing the damage and rebuilding everything that was lost with the Graves -  the muscle tone, strength and endurance, among other things.  If this race is any indication, the switch has flipped and the body is finally getting back on track.  I have to admit a bit of trepidation, though.  A fear that the "on" switch will turn "off" again lurks beneath the surface.  If the thyroid suppressant dosage doesn't keep the levels steady, then going backwards is a reality, again.  But, focus on the present positive, right?  Run Crazy Horse was a true celebration in many ways.  It is so easy to take life and health for granted - make sure to savor every moment.....

We would highly recommend Run Crazy Horse Half or full marathon.  The races are run on a beautifully scenic trail at the peak of the fall color season. The setting - from the start at the Crazy Horse Memorial to the trail - is hard to beat.  It seems to be a well organized and well run event (results were up immediately) that has a friendly vibe - from the organizers, to the volunteers, to the participants.  If you are looking to head to the Black Hills in the fall, don't pass up this fun race!


We will post lots more photos from our trip to the Black Hills but promise few words.  Thanks for hanging in for what has to be THE LONGEST half-marathon race report EVER!  Sheesh.........

Happy Trails to everyone!

Run Crazy Horse Half Marathon - Quick Recap

Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer, South Dakota

 15 minutes to Go-Time

So we are in South Dakota for a meet up with Kathleen's dad and his new bride.  A couple weeks back, we saw an ad for Run Crazy Horse - a full and half marathon, run mostly on the Mickelson Trail.  The next day, we're in - what the heck - might as well jump in on a race in another state while we are there!!!

 Kathleen kicking it in

Bringing home a little "hardware" from South Dakota!

We both essentially ran perfect races.  Best I have ever felt start to finish in a race and probably nearly so for Kathleen as well.  So here is how we shook out:

Steve - 1:31:58,  9/537 overall, 8th male of 192, 1st overall Masters man

Kathleen -  1:37:52, 22/537 overall, 5th female of 345, 1st overall Masters woman

Happy Trails!!!!!!!!!!!

A Peek Inside the Ultra World

Breakfast is served

Kathleen was up early Saturday morning to get in a run before we headed out to Buffalo Creek for the North Fork 50.  She was able to get a nice 7 mile run in, while I took my time getting up and getting ready for the day.  She got chased by a doe on the trail, adding adventure to her run with graphic images of being trampled by her hooves!!  When she got back to the house, these guys were having a buffet in our Xeric garden.  We have been having more deer activity lately after several months of them not being around much.

Strawberry Jack Trail

After a nice drive up to the Pine Valley Ranch Open Space, it was time to get focused for pacing our friend Tim at the NF50.  He was able to pick up a pacer at mile 30.5 where the 50k runners split off for the finish and we would head out for a second loop of 19.5 miles.  Kathleen and I tried to stay in the shade at the trail junction as much as possible as it was already getting hot.

Preparing for the run

Game On!

Kathleen captured a great shot here!  Tim was just the second runner through the split - both 50 mile runners.  Uh-oh, the heat is on.  Literally.  It had already reached the low 80's by the time we headed out.  For some of you that is not much, but above 7000' with the overhead sun beating on you, it is a UV beat down.  The start of the second loop is also a repeat of the worst climb of the day where the race started.

Up, up, up they go...First set of switchbacks

In the photo above, Tim was giving me the run down:  "I have just spent 30 miles in a solid second place and I don't want to lose it."  As he was saying this, I was "force feeding" him the first round of mandatory food/salt intake.  He has some good stories about how I was nagging him and they are probably true - gotta keep him running, right?

At some point, about 4 miles into the second loop, I started to have some red flags.  Answers had changed to grunts and Tim was having some discomfort in his hips when we tried to start running after hiking the steeps.  Not good.  It is strange how your body can feel great one minute, and then things incrementally go haywire.  That is unfortunately what started to happen to Tim.  I felt bad because it was nothing I could help with. On top of physical issues, it was now in the low 90's.  By the time we hit mile 36 - 37, the goal changed to finishing the race.  The next 4 hours would be about making sure Tim stayed nourished (you can read all about that routine on his blog) and continued to move toward the finish.  As time ticked away, Kathleen was doing her own "pacing" - back and forth at the finish, worrying that one of us was on Flight for Life headed for Denver....

At the last aid stop, we ran into Ace, who had unfortunately missed the time cut.  I felt really bad for him as he headed down the trail back toward the finish.  At this point, I asked Tim if he could run the 2.8 mile descent to the finish and he was up for a try.  I let him run in front now so he could see what was left in the tank.   For everything that went wrong, for as bad as the conditions were, and for being in a really dark spot for quite a few miles, Tim really dug deep and drug himself to the finish.  He finished 6th and I was so proud when he ran through the chute to the applause of all the folks hanging out for post race festivities.  And it was a darn good thing we ran the descent - 7th place was 7 minutes behind us - whew!

I'll never run a 50 miler again!

That is a direct quote, repeated several times.  Two days removed, and some reflective time later, I had a nice chat with Tim.  "Maybe I'll look at Run Rabbit Run 50 mile in Steamboat in September - what do you think Steve?"  I don't know quite what the Ultra-bug is, but he has it.  I have not yet been infected, but I will say this:  there was a nice vibe hanging out with all the folks at the finish pavilion - lots of camaraderie and genuine good people enjoying their "scene".  It was great to be part of it for a day - Thanks Tim!

19.5 miles, 3500' climb, La Sportiva Wildcats and Drymax socks kept the feet happy.

Good Times!

Driving home through Woodland Park - Nice Pikes Peak view from the back side!

Sunday Recovery Run

More takers at the salad bar

After almost 5 hours in the baking sun on Saturday, we decided to get up early Sunday and run before the heat.  Not knowing what the legs would have after Saturday, we stayed close to home and ran at Ute Valley Park.  Mama and her playful little fawn were already making short work of our newest blooms....

Stopped by the arch

Group photo with that "Hill" in the background

It was a pretty non-spectacular run other than the fact that we both actually felt good, albeit a bit tired.  So we kept a little slower tempo and got a nice 10 miles in.  While we were out running UVP, there were a bunch of folks on "The Hill" - Pikes Peak that is, running the Barr Trail Mountain Race.  Lots of good stuff on their page and they have cool results with splits that show just how SLOW you are trudging up the mountain!  

Shoes - K Saucony Guide Trail

S - Asics Trabuco

Monday Ride

Ride day with HILLS for Kathleen on Monday

Happy Trails!

Good Times at the Greenland 25k

We headed out early this morning to the Greenland 25k trail race that we've had on the schedule for quite a while.  This year's event sold out about two months ahead of race day, so all 550 runners had been watching May 1 for a long time.  We even got a nice, functional tech shirt again this year.

Last weeks enormous snowstorm left a nice little surprise of over 1 foot of snow on Greenland, and the weather this week was not conducive to speedy melting.  We were bracing ourselves all week for atrocious weather conditions but were pleasantly surprised to awaken with clear skies, albeit a bit on the cool side - this would be a good thing, keep reading...  Bonus #2 came when we arrived at Greenland Open Space and there was no gale force wind, as there was last year.  Sweet!  Just look at the view....

Got to meet up with fellow Colorado blogger Ace before the race started.  He was running the 50k for his first ultramarathon - cool!  We knew we could find him easily, being the Brooks ambassador that he is, but he actually spotted us first.  I met him for the first time at the Winter Series III race, but Kathleen had not yet met him so that was fun.  We had also been watching for Jonathan and Tammy, who we met in person for the first time last night when we picked up packets at Colorado Running.  They were also doing their first 50k - awesome for them as well.  Unfortunately, we did not get to see them until out on course, so no photo this time!

So, start of the race was sunny, about 36 degrees, and not much wind.  The overnight cold was a blessing as most of the mud was still a bit on the frozen/crusty side for lap 1.  (8 mile = 1 lap, 25k = 2 laps, 50k = 4 laps)  We were a bit pushed on time after the eternal wait in porta potty line and had to scratch and claw our way toward the front of the start area.  Although the race started on a dirt two-track, wading through 550 people at the start of the race can be a drag.  First lap went great, with the aforementioned mostly frozen mud being greatly appreciated.  After the first couple miles, it thinned out pretty well and we got to settle into a pace with not too many folks around.  I was a bit in front of Kathleen, but she was keeping a nice pace and had found a small group (including Jonathan) to pace with.  First lap - good run, no issues.  Good.

As is the case with the strong sun/UV at altitude, lap 2 started to present some significant mud issue.  That really was not appreciated by tired legs, but everyone had to run on the same stuff, so just adapt and move forward.  Last year, the wheels came off for me on lap 2 - I was really hoping not to have that happen again.  Hit my gels and S-caps on schedule, as did Kathleen, and it worked pretty well for us.  Felt good most of the way, even with the mud slogging, with just a wee bit of crampiness coming on to the calves on the drop off the saddle after the big climb. The calf crampiness hit Kathleen there too.  Maybe a little dehydrated going into the day? Not sure, but with only a couple miles, we managed. 

I stopped the clock (unofficially - results not posted yet) at 2:10:03 UPDATE: official time posted at 2:10:06 for 24th of 184 overall, which peeled 3:30 off my mark from last year.  2:10 was my target, so that was good!  2:05 was super-wish list, but was not happening today.  Course came to 15.62 on the GPS with 1600' climb, so that put the pace at 8:20/mile.  Not bad - I was happy with that.  New 25k PR.  BTW, the Dirty Girl Gaiters were awesome for keeping rocks out of the shoes with the tacky soil and, as always, the Drymax socks were perfect!

Kathleen came in at 2:15:30 2:15:32 - good for 3rd in her age group and 36 out of 184, 6th overall woman!!!  So 3 of the top 6 in her age group!  That works out to 8:40/mile pace - awesome. Her goal had been 2:12ish for a good day and 2:15 for a decent day.  I guess it was decent. Photo above is her getting her award.  First ever 25k for Kathleen and her longest race to date - so a PR for her as well :-)  And she got lots of comments for the pink leopard gaiters - she said she "sold" over a dozen pairs!

The age group award was a cool ceramic tile "coaster" with a photo from the start of last year's race on it.  Very nice!

It ended up being a great day for us - both happy with the results but also knowing that there are still things we can improve on for future races.  

Shoes - K Asics 2150 Trail

S - LaSportiva Wildcat

Last Minute Race ... and a PR at that!

After a couple weeks of feeling a little blah on runs, I decided to hop in at the last minute to the Pikes Peak Road Runners Winter Series III race.  Kathleen had to work, so it was just me heading north on I-25 for this event.  The Winter Series is a progressive short/long series where each gets longer for both.  So yesterday's race was a 5 mi / 10 mi and I jumped in on the 10 miler.  Most of the series is on dirt or at least dirt roads, and this race was on the Santa Fe Trail between Monument and Palmer Lake Colorado.  The PPRR nickname for this race is the Wind Tunnel - great.  This trail is very open, and sure enough we had wind.   This is also long, flat (for Colorado), and pretty straight - a course for the Gazelles, not necessarily for a trail runner.  But I figured running with the speed demons every once and a while might help my overall leg speed, so why not?  It's not like I do many races so a little winter fitness test won't hurt anyone.  So I joined up with 533 other runners to hit the trail.

 

The sun was luring all the runners in the hour before race time.  Here is the view as I was walking to the staging area.  All of these races have walk-up race day registration available for last minute schlubs (like me) to hop in!  It was sunny with only a slight breeze when I arrived but that would change.  I also got to meet Ace, fellow Colorado blogger, for the first time before the race, which was very cool. 

  

The staging area was at the Baptist Road Trailhead on the Santa Fe Trail at about 6800'.  This is about an 8 foot wide multi-use trail that is dirt with crushed granite surface.  The race headed north to the 5 mile turn around at approximately 7200'.  With all the rollers, the Garmin calculated 834' accumulated climb - pretty flat for 10 miles of Colorado running.  Except for the last mile, there was no snow on the trail due to our non-snowy season so far.  Reports are that in past years, the northern end of the long course involved post-holing shin deep snow.  SO sorry I missed out....

So, as for the race, obviously I had not planned specifically for it, so when I decided to have at it, my goal was pretty simple - top my fastest 10 mile race time, not blow up, and hopefully not cramp (which has been a nemesis of almost every race I have run or biked.)  I ran out of S-Caps! so I was a wee bit nervous on the cramp part.  So in the hour before race time i sipped on some NUUN and it seemed to help.  I had brief thoughts of hanging with the aforementioned gazelles but that evaporated quickly after exiting the start corral. 

First Half:  As mentioned, the weather changed.  We got a stiff, cold wind from the northeast and clouds rolled in right before the start.  So I had to start somewhat sensible as we were climbing and fighting the wind for the out portion.  I felt pretty good and generally ran pretty smoothly in the 7:40 - 8 pace range on the way out.  I was glad I wore my Sporthill 3SP jersey - no wind coming through that puppy!  I found some folks who were in my capability range and tried to watch my pace.  I tend to get brain freeze on these straight/flat type runs - before you know it you are lulled into a slower pace but you perceive your effort as being the same.  At least for me it works that way.  Last mile on the out, hit some chunky packed snow sections, which blew up the pacing a bit as everyone was jockeying for the "good" line.  Hit the turn (5.05 mi) at 39:49 / 7:53 pace - Crap, I got some work to do!

Second Half:  Ah, the tailwind - every runner/cyclist's dream on the Santa Fe trail is that the festering wind in your face when heading north will not switch directions when you head back to the south (trust me it happens).  Jackpot - we got the tailwind.  So descent + tailwind = sort of happy.  I started to calculate pace/time/speed/wind shear/leg explosion combinations in my head as to what it would take to hit my goal.  My "secret" goal was to finish in the 1:15:xx area.  Had some work cut out for that.  Plus my pace buddies on the way out were really notching it down when we hit the turn.  I started to talk to myself a bit - telling myself this could take some time in the "hurt locker" to get it done.  Or the "pain cave" - whichever works for you.  Kept the second half sub-7:20's which is pretty speedy for me at this point.  The last couple miles were not fun.  First, it spit a few snow flurries - that was just an insult, but I tried to ignore it.  But I hit low 7's, high 6's for some brief periods and that was all the gas I had.  Stopped the clock at 1:15:53 - new 10 mile PR by 5:50, so that was pretty solid.  10.11 miles on the Garmin, which put me at 7:30 pace overall and I feel satisfied with that.  UPDATE: Forgot to look at the official results, but here are the numbers: 38th overall, 35th male, 6th in 40-44 age group.  For those who like to geek on the numbers, here they are:

 

(Photo courtesy Tom Dewane)

This just in - an action shot!  (And probably the only dork with a hydration pack.)

 

Steve and Ace - chillin' at the finish!

What, did someone say donuts?  Nothing like Hostess Chocolate donuts and coffee at the finish - mmmm.  I ran over to the truck and quickly got the sweaty clothing swapped out for Windstopper and a warm hat and hung out at the finish area for a while to watch some people come in.   It was a good race, probably not totally my style or speed, but that's OK.  Even got a photo with Ace at the finish, but forgot to get a Happy Trails waiver so I will post it later if he doesn't mind.  I'll also post a pic of me in the race when they come up on PPRR's website.

  

Post-race fueling - My sweetie brought this home to me from our favorite bakery - Boonzaaijer's Dutch Bakery.  A delicious fruit tart - yummy.  While I don't photograph food as well as Tina, you get the "picture".  Happy Trails everyone!

Shoes - Brooks Ravenna

Monday musings . . . . . .

Ok, I've been reading everyone's plans/goals/race schedules for 2010. It seems to be "tis the season" to dream so I thought I would do my own musing in terms of this year's events. First of all let me admit something - I am a lazy athlete. Always have been, always will be. There, I said it. I like to do the absolute least amount of work and cross my fingers for maximum gain. Too much training structure has me rebelling and digging my heels in. So too, with too much "race" calendar structure. I am generally happy as a lark to skip merrily down the trail for as short or as long of mileage or intensity as I please. I like to make the choice to flog myself on a run on a particular day or choose to do a twinkie workout. No hardcore training schedules, please!

That being said (somewhat tongue in cheek), more seriously, I have to work hard to be a decent runner. Steve is a more natural runner, I am not. Cycling came much more easily for me (years ago, now) so I have to apply MUCH more effort and focus to be able to run with Steve.

Here it goes with the potential event schedule (subject to change on a whim!):

1. April 19 - Desert RATS 25 mile trail race in Fruita, CO
http://www.geminiadventures.com/DesertRATSfestival.html

Steve's going to come home tonight and take my temperature on this one as it is a HUGE stretch. It must be the mate' tea I am drinking that has me feeling frisky. Not only am I not a natural runner, I have runner A.D.D.    LOL! We have kidded with a few of our local running friends that I have running-induced A.D.D. I pretty much lose my focus after about 16 miles. Bored. Big time. This is a good course to remedy that problem - a BIG 25 mile loop, no back tracking, lots of top notch desert singletrack, good scenery, but still a big mental challenge. It's on the list because SOMEDAY I want to run it!

2. May 1 - Greenland Trail 25k
http://www.greenland50k.com/

This one is practically in our backyard. It's fast and would be good training. It's not an especially scenic course (two loops through rolling prairie) so not particularly good for my running A.D.D. It would be very helpful to me if Spruce Mountain was part of the course. It would add to the scenic value.

3. May 29 - Sageburner Trail 25k - Gunnison, CO
http://www.western.edu/student-life/fitness-center/sage-burner

This is a great course. It will keep my attention. We've mountain biked Hartmans and now want to run it. Bonus: meeting up with Renee! (http://pinkcorker.blogspot.com/)

4. September 25 - Golden Leaf Trail Half Marathon - Aspen, CO
http://www.utemountaineer.com/Events/Golden%20Leaf/GoldenLeafdefault.html

This is another course that will keep my attention. Beautiful scenery and fabulous singletrack.  Awesome - I am excited about this one!


5. October 9 - Xterra 21k Trail Race - Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.marathonmajic.com/index.html

Right here in town, the trails are some of our favorites and I need to not cramp and redeem my time this year. I ran it faster in training than I did in the actual race due to the calf cramps. Grrrr . . .

Honorable mentions:

July 18 - Barr Trail Mountain Race - Colorado Springs, CO
http://www.runpikespeak.com/

Again, this is one on my "someday" list. It's right here in town, a great race, I've got a few potential training partners but am picky about courses and not sure I really have the desire to train for it yet. It's 6 miles and 3000 feet of elevation gain, turning around for the 6 mile return trip and descending back down that 3000 feet. Ouch.  The practical, common sense part of me will be thinking "What if I trash my knees" all the way down.  Hmmmm . . . .


July 3 - Leadville Heavy-Half - Leadville, CO
http://www.leadvilletrail100.com/LT100Races/LeadvilleTrailHeavyHalfMarathon/Overview.aspx

This is another "someday" event.  It could happen.  Or maybe not!  :-)

So there you have it, my short list of events. They all could magically happen or zero could realistically happen. We'll see. Like mentioned before, I am happy to skip merrily down the trail, pause to smell the flowers, without any pressure to perform. Also, LIFE tends to happen. It is fun to muse, though, and be a little silly, too. Please feel free to share any training secrets. Happy Trails and dreaming this week!

Xterra Race Report

CAUTION: This is going to be a long-winded puppy of a post!

Xterra rolled into town yesterday with their inaugural trail half and full marathon races for our area. We had a number of other races planned during 2009 but, for a variety of reasons, couldn't make happen. I had started eyeing this event as soon as it was announced. I love running the trails at CMSP and love Xterra. If I knew how to swim, I would be doing Xterra triathlons!

I was kind of hem-hawing about actually going ahead and running it this past week. Due to the "issues" I have had with my hip and knee this past month, I have managed to get in only 3 runs a week for the past 4 weeks and didn't have much confidence in my fitness. To top it off, on Thursday, I felt a bit out of sorts and thought I might be coming down with a cold. Bummer! Finally decided to just go with it, regardless of speed (or lack of, in my case!), have some fun, meet some nice people, and enjoy a great run on great trails. Encouragement from Steve helped, too! I had no expectations - my goal was to survive and have fun!

The race started at 8:00am so we scooted out the door around 6:45 and headed down the road a piece to pick up our dear friend and local runner extraordinaire, Connilee, who was on a mission to snap a few photos for Colorado Runner Magazine. She graciously offered to "escort" me on part of the course and I agreed to be her "tour guide" as she has never explored the trails at CMSP. Bonus for both of us! BTW, she is 21 weeks pregnant and my pace was W-A-Y slower than what she coulda, shoulda run!!!

We arrived at the park with gloriously sunny, blue skies and a crisp 32 degrees. C set out to scout her photo op area at the top of the Talons. Steve and I headed out for a short warm-up on the little starter loop. He then headed to his first photo op area near the base of the Talons. I enjoyed the minutes before the race start chit-chatting with our neighbor, Marvin, and a couple other gals. The announcer called everyone to the starting area and I realized that Marvin and I had been doing our chit-chat near the front of the gathering crowd. I almost went into a panic - what in the world was I doing starting at the front??? I would be trampled as soon as the gun went off!!! But there was a different vibe to this race. Everyone seemed calm, mellow, smiling. It was the most relaxed race start I've ever been at - mountain biking or running. After the start gun went off, there was no pushing, elbowing, or trampling of slower runners. I LOVED it! Of course, people were ready to race - we were off!

We had little start loop, to get folks separated out, that was just under a mile long before we connected with the main loop.

Looking up the trail on the starter loop.

A view back toward the start/finish area from partway up the starter loop.

People spread out fairly quickly. I just concentrated on running my own pace and metering my effort. After the first 1.5 miles or so, I was running with a string of 5 or 6 guys. Oddly, I didn't really notice any other women at this point.
Above is the eventual Half-Marathon winner. He is a pro Xterra triathlete. His winning time was 1:42. I know people will scratch their heads at the time - although not an expert analyst - I suspected this had the potential to be a slow course. There is a lot of off-camber trail with frequent twists and turns and constant undulations on the climbs as well as the descents. There's not much of a chance to get a steady rhythm going. Throw in some very technical sections and you've got yourself a fun trail race!

Three miles in - having fun and enjoying the gorgeous morning!

Our neighbor, Marvin, waving at Steve and having some fun too!

I made it to the top of the Talons and picked up my All Star Escort. You can just see her blue shoulder peaking out behind me. She asked how I was feeling - unexpectedly, I was feeling good, just carefully trying to meter the effort, although I mentioned that my legs felt a little "jello-y". Hmmm. Other than that, good. Interestingly enough, I still have not seen any other female racers at this point, 6.5 miles in. Weird.
Me and the Escort cruising a smooth level section, above. We are getting ready to head over to the Medicine Wheel trail - very technical - twisty, rocky, boulders, a slight uphill - about 9 miles in. The most technical parts of the course were in the last 4.5 miles. Tired bodies = course carnage!

We tiptoed carefully through Medicine Wheel and caught Blackmer for the push up the final climb to the top of Cougar's Shadow. Halfway up Blackmer, the wheels started to fall off. I was climbing so slowly. Then, for the first time in miles, I saw a couple of other female racers - pass me. I lost C, as she caught her toe and fell but told me she was ok, to keep going. Near the top of Blackmer, it hit. A twinge. In the calf. Then twinges in both calves. I chose to hike up the short, rocky climb at the entrance to Cougar. When I started to run, the twinges turned into knots - my calves were cramping. Oh no, how could this be happening??? I NEVER cramp. Poor Steve cramps. I don't cramp. My body retains water, for crying out loud, and at times, lots of it! :-) When Steve talks about his calves or hamstrings cramping, I listen to him with sympathetic ears but have a blank look in my eyes because I don't relate to or fully "appreciate" his condition. I do now.

They were wadding up. I began pleading with my calves to please be kind and not give up yet. I stopped briefly several times to massage the knots. I hobbled up to the high point of Cougar and then continued hobbling down what should have been a nice, quick, enjoyable 2 mile descent to the finish. C caught back on and had to listen to my lunacy - pleading with the old calves to please behave one moment and then sweet talking them another. I normally love this curvy, somewhat rocky section of trail but all the undulations, twists and turns had me wishing it were over as it required too much calf flexing! It was worse when having to step and flex upward.

But, thankfully, the calves mercifully held themselves together. Here we are (Escort and I) coming into the finish, smiling, and happy to have survived.
Grateful to have finished in one piece and happy to be with my wonderful hubby and dear friend - a big THANK YOU for your enthusiasm, support, and encouragement - it was awesome!

I finished in 2:12 (I know, a time to make all the speedsters cry), 5th woman overall out of 66, 31st overall out of 156 finishers(men and women). I figure to have lost about 5 minutes in the last few miles due to the cramping incident but am totally pleased to have finished as well as I did as the original expectation for the day was to just survive. And most importantly, aside from a decent finish - it was just plain FUN. I am thankful for so many blessings in my life! The ability to be able to just run is something never to take for granted.

Xterra did a fantastic job with this inaugural event. Like mentioned earlier, the vibe was very friendly and relaxed but well organized. The course was taped and marked perfectly - there really wasn't a way for anyone to take a wrong turn or get lost. The volunteers were enthusiastic and helpful. Well done, Xterra!

As an FYI end note to this terribly long and rambling post - it turns out that I have some sort of, ahem, intestinal/stomach bug. It had been coming on a few days prior to the race and hit full on soon afterward. Yikes! Thankfully it "mostly" waited until afterward. It explains the jello leg feeling and then the uncharacteristic cramping.

Happy Trails to all this week!

Shoes: Asics Gel Trabuco

Route stats: 13.45 miles, 2400 feet climbing