Does it get any better?

That's the thought that has continuously crossed my mind after my run at the Chippewa 50K. Seriously, folks, I'm close to driving Ellie NUTS with the constant re-hashing of memories, "hey, look at these photos of Adam almost falling off the board walk," "isn't this a cool trail?," and "I think you'd like to meet Helen and Steve," and "Yeah, what I said for Matt's camera was pretty lame."
Wait, have I told Ellie about SCaps, and the Leinie's at the finish, the "TFH?" brb...

...

Oh. Apparently I did. Sorry, Ellie.

So what if I'm still on a "runner's high" from my first ever trail race? Does it get any better than that? I don't think so. Reasons why (yes, I'm reverting to bullet points):

• I NAILED the nutrition. A bag of Sport Beans early, then a bit of nuun and mostly water and SCaps any time I felt even the slightest bit queezy. I also sucked/chewed on a shot blok of varying flavors non stop. It worked perfectly. For the first time, my stomach didn't give out. With 2 miles to go my legs were simply done. I couldn't lift them any more, and was stuck with the push-your-legs-into-the-ground walk. But my stomach wasn't the issue! That in itself made my day.
• I'm not sure what to say, being very, very new to trail races, about the course markings. The ONLY place I had any trouble was on the return trip, not far from the turn-around, when I almost took the newly-cut logging trail instead of the IAT. To me, though, THAT'S exactly what I was hoping for in a race. I WANT to be looking around for more trails. It's totally about a 2-way relationship between the trail and yourself. Don't just expect to be let home. One aspect I LOVED about the return run is that I hardly saw anyone. I didn't have an iPod (Adam). I simply listened to my breathing and my inner conversation, and enjoyed every step of the run. Doesn't get much better than that.
• I could have maybe run the first half faster, but I'm glad I didn't. This left me legs to run the 2nd half at a higher heart rate, pushing it the majority of the time, and I got to spend a decent amount of time with Steve in the first half. I have about a dozen (okay, maybe 3 dozen) more questions to ask him about (whether or not he wants to converse...he shared later he didn't really care to talk books with me...but then he still managed to bring up Glaven...who works in a LIBRARY) plenty of other topics. In addition, I'd love to get him in the same room with my brother-in-law, who's an East side St. Paul native and (I thought) knew more about the city than anyone. I'm still relying on him to find the "Mystic Trail" for me though.
• I probably will run Boston next year. It would mean a lot to me, to my favorite marathon running buddy (my older sister) and to my parents. When I told my parents about how amazing the Chippewa 50K was, my dad reiterated to me how "great" it would be to have TWO children running Boston together. Being a huuuuge race face, he compared it to the Indy 500. I'll be there. So will he. I just may not run it that hard...Chippewa will be less than a week away :)
• The course photographers were AMAZING! Here are some pictures of me working the boardwalk (wearing "arm panties," nonetheless) across one of 110 lakes we'd pass. Literally...110 lake isn 31 miles. Hit "next" for the entire sequence. Truly amazing country.
• Again, special thanks to Matt, for sending me on my way at the 25K mark, Wynn, for a great race, and Adam, Helen (by the way, who runs 13 miles 3 days after a 50K?!), and Steve, for really sparking my interest in the event.
• For me, the 50K is a perfect distance. Especially on trails. When training for my 50 miler, I ALWAYS felt like I NEEDED to be running. This run was based on only 3 big days of running a week...something I can definitely manage and still continue to develop my real job and business.
• In less than 2 weeks I'm running Journeys Marathon, and I'm gonna run it hard. I'll let the chips fall where they may at that point. After that, it's speed work galore in preps for Grandma's. I really, really, really want to break 3 hours there. If so, beers are on me for Helen and Adam!
• This fall is shaping up well. After proposing a lock-tight itinerary, the Wife has agreed to the following schedule...Twin Cities on October 4...then I go back to the trails and enjoy them with Glacial Trail 50K October 11, followed by a nice taper and the North Face 50K on October 24. The North Face 50K will be my main event, and if the excitement of my Chippewa experience holds on, look out!

Chippewa 50K Report

The Finisher's Print. No medal. I like this much more!

Remember that post I had about being in Boston next year? Things may have changed.

That's how much I enjoyed the Chippewa 50K this weekend.

From the course to the fellow runners to what was probably the best post-race food spread I've ever seen (never thought a pickle would taste so good), I enjoyed the entire day!

It all started Friday afternoon with a relatively uneventful trip up to Chippewa Falls (outside of my mom getting in a fight with her TomTom--who she calls "Tomasina" because the voice is female--and trying to turn it off but instead cranking up the volume so that for 5 miles the damn thing could continue to tell us to turn around in a friendly but urgent tone). After finding a place to have a Leinie's and a decent meal, I was ready for bed by 10 and listening to the thunder and rain outside. The radar looked equally WET for tomorrow, so instead of laying out exactly what I would be wearing, I literally took everything out of my suitcase and spread it out on the bed, deciding I'd deal with it in the morning.

As usual, I slept little and simply waited for my alarm to go off. My dad was his usual quiet self (like a mouse...leading a herd of elephants) in the next room over by 4 am, so I reluctantly gave up and got up at around 5. He's up every morning between 4 and 5 AM. Who does that?

While the thunder and lightning had stopped, there was still a steady and heavy rain coming down all morning. I decided I'd wear my NF Singlet and favorite running shorts underneath a long sleeve Under Armour winter weather top, and then put on another, heavier and bigger, pair of shorts over the top too. This way I could strip some layers if they got wet, or if it got hot out. I also had an extra pair of shoes and several extra pairs of socks in anticipation of getting my feet soaked. After getting some chicken soup and water in my belly, we were back in the car and on our way to the Chippewa Moraine Interpretive Center, where the race started and finished, by 6:45 AM. This was also a relatively uneventful trip, with the exception of the following conversation with my mom:

• 
  
  Mom: So, is this a Boston Qualifier?


• 
  
  Nic: Uh, no. Actually, this isn't a marathon. It's called an "Ultra Marathon" because it's longer than 26.2 miles.


• 
  
  M: Oh yeah, that's right. It's a 30K.


• 
  
  Dad: No, it's a 50K.


• 
  
  M: Right. 50K. 30 miles.


• 
  
  N/D simultaneously: 31.

Well, at least the TomTom was on the fritz at this point so it couldn't add to the confusion :)

The majority of the 20 minute trip up to the race was through a steady rain. By the time we got there, however, it had stopped. A sign of things to come? After going up and checking, I returned to the car to lose my sweatpants and coat. I tried to relax as much as possible, and a final "good luck" phone call from Ellie helped. Parked across from us was a man changing his shoes in the back of his car. He was taking off some orange shoes and putting on some pretty worn looking blue and gray ones. Ironically, this meant something to me after reading Westy's dilemma. He was talking to a fellow runner, and it was getting close to race time, so I didn't get a chance to say hello but made a mental note to find him later. And I did.

Ellie tells me to drink enough water, eat enough food, and "No dying, No crying."

As we waiting for the pre-run announcements, Helen came up and said hello. It's odd to feel free to give someone a hug the first time you ever meet someone, but after all the comments back and forth in jest about running (and drinking) each other into the ground, it was great to finally meet her. While we were talking, Adam walked by and said hello too. Helen then told Adam to take me out "nice and fast." Considering Adam took second last year, I shared that if I was anywhere near him out there, I was in big trouble. Adam also shared that the course had been changed a bit from last year to include a massive downhill at the beginning and...well, if it's an out-and-back course, you can guess how the race finishes :)

I gave my mom and dad a hug, got a "good luck in your marathon--I mean 30K--I mean 50K!" from my mom, and made my way, with the other runners to the "start line," which was pretty much wherever we wanted to start, it seemed. Adam once again called me up to the front of the line, and again, I declined. With a ringing of a cowbell we were on our way, bombing down the first hill. I wanted to run even splits and was hoping to run right around 4:30 for a finishing time. As the first couple miles unfolded I just tried to stay loose, walk the uphills, take in water, and get in some sport beans while solid food still was palatable to me. I also tried to keep an eye on my HR, but that was pretty useless with the constant up and down hills. Nonetheless, I kept myself under control and passed people when I felt like, but not often. At the first aid station (around Mile 5) I took off the sweatshirt I was wearing and added some arm warmers. I was feeling great but was still a bit chilly because of the occasional wind that would come up.

As the miles continued, I got to talk to Bruce, who ran this race last year (in the snow) and slipped on one of the (many) board walks along the course, thus ending up in the water. Quite a story to tell, that's for sure! Soon after that I caught up with SteveQ, who was running in such a way that I knew it had to be him. It was a shuffle--the way one might run if he/she had completed 131 miles of trail running in the last 13 days. Which he had. I was very privileged to share the trails with him for the better part of 4 miles, the conversation involving varied topics:

Knowing he's a prolific reader, I asked what books (plural) he's currently reading. He shared that he's currently working his way through the personal memoirs of U. S. Grant. Steve noted he enjoyed how Mr. Grant was attempting to revise certain parts of his history...the parts that didn't reflect well upon him. Steve has read over 7,000 books in his life, with 3,000 remaining on his Lifetime Reading List. I decided not to mention that my current reading level was "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. Most of the books on Steve's 'Completed List' involve Latin words or Authors I'm not familiar with or can even pronounce. Most of the books on my 'Completed List' involve TV shows or my favorite basketball players. I aborted the conversation as one that would only make me look dumb :)

• 
  
  Steve shared he hadn't fallen yet during this run, but had rolled his ankle a couple times. Shortly after this, I tripped, with only my hand-held water bottle saving me from a face plant.



• 
  
  About a mile later (somewhere around Mile 10) I mentioned that I had met Helen and Adam prior to the race, and that Helen wanted me to go out very fast so that I would crash and burn. I told Steve that I was running very conservatively, but knew Helen was lurking someplace behind me. Steve looked at me confused (briefly, before returning his gaze to the trail) and said, "Oh, no. Helen's long gone. She passed me around Mile 3." Then then, again very briefly, looked up at me with a grin and said, "I just figured out what mean thing I'm going to say about you in my race report." Oh, good. Glad I could help. Strike 3.



• 
  
  We chatted a bit more about NF (the disease I run and fund raise more) before I decided that I should probably get moving. I told him I hoped I'd only see him again on the way back, but by this point my race plan was a bit up in the air.

Somewhere around Mile 14.5 the leaders came flying by. I'm normally not a big fan of out-and-back courses, but this was pretty cool to see. Those guys were moving! It's a big time motivation for me, also, to keep plugging away and get to that turn around. Not long after the leaders, Helen came by. I told her to slow down. I tried to gently push her off the ledge the trail currently traversed. She didn't slow down or fall down. She simply smiled and continued to run very fast.

At the halfway point. Can someone PLEASE get my skin in touch with a UV Ray or two? My Yellow Jersey is indistinguishable from my skin. Yikes!

2 hours and 28 minutes into the race I reached Highway E--half way. After a minor crewing error a couple weeks ago regarding SCaps and nuun, my mom waited for me to confirm that the capsules went in my pocket, and the nuun tablet went in the water bottle. Matt (winner of "Most Creative Blog URL Award") was working the turn around point (as was Julie, but I didn't see her and didn't introduce myself) and introduced himself. I was happy to finally meet him and struck up a conversation. He quickly told me to shut up, get running, and come talk to him after the run is over. Roger that, and I was off.

So, half way through the event in 2:28, and I was hoping, going in, to run 4:30. I knew I had run the first half very easy, and I knew, on fresh legs, I could run 15 miles on the Ice Age Trail in about 2 hours. I decided to run hard from the beginning and see what happens. Less than a mile into the trip back, I passed a group of 4 runners who SteveQ had described as "chatty Triathletes who, because of how much they talk, should either run a lot faster or a lot longer." Absolutely hilarious! As I passed them, one told me to make sure I didn't let them catch me. They also mentioned my day-glow yellow NF jersey (and skin, for that matter) were like a big target on the trail. Note taken, and motivation received.

I saw very few people on the return trip, but managed to catch and pass about 5 people from Miles 17-26. I was feeling good--not great--but kept taking SCaps when I felt a lull coming on. This was pretty much the story of the day. I'd start to feel crappy, take 2 SCaps, and almost immediately feel better. I have no idea how I ran for so long without ever using those things. Furthermore, this was the first race I've ever done where my legs gave out (because of the hills) before I had any noted gut issues. Time for some hill work to get more leg strength!

At the Mile 26 Aid Station, I checked the clock: 3:47. That meant if I could run 9 minute miles for the last 5 miles, I could maybe hit 4:30. And I hadn't seen Helen yet, either :) At this point nothing looked appetizing at the aid station. I was barely thirsty anymore, either, so I just put a little water in the bottle and took off. I knew that two BIG hills were waiting for me, so I tried to hold back a little bit.

At around Mile 28 I finally caught a glimpse of Helen ahead of me on the trail...the first person I'd seen in about 4 miles. I eventually caught her, and she said, "Keep going, I'm done."

"Done?" I thought to myself? She looked great...still running up all the hills, still smiling, still making strides that look completely effortless. When I'm 'Done,' it isn't pretty. I'm covered in dried salt, looking straight down at the ground pissed off and on the verge of tears, and wondering to myself why the HELL I'm doing this. Apparently Helen and I have different definitions of "Done."

With about 2 miles to go, the course comes within 50 feet of the Ice Age Center's parking lot. It's so close you can hear the cowbells and cheering for the finishers. I knew that on the way out, from the start, it took me about 20 minutes to get to this point of the trail. This didn't bode well for a 4:30 finishing time as my clock currently read 4:21. The hills in the final 2 miles are enormous (or at least seem that way :) and my quads were absolutely fried. As I mentioned, I'd never felt my legs so fatigued. My mind and my stomach wanted to go, but my legs had reduced me to the "use-your-arms-to-push-your-knees-into-the-ground" approach. I was absolutely dreading the final hill. Eventually, after what seemed like an hour, I got to out of the woods, crossed a road, and entered the meadow below (far, far below) the Finish Area. I dropped my empty water bottle next to the road, deciding that the additional 7 ounces of fabric and plastic were the reason my legs were so tired. On I marched/jogged, truly amazed at how tired my legs were. I was still smiling, though, as from the top of the hill I could hear my mom yelling my name. I'm truly blessed when it comes to my parents, that's for sure. "Hey, Mom and Pops, want to drive 4 hours, stay in a hotel, then get up really early and stand around on the side of the road and wait to see me for all of 15 minutes, then leave and wait another hour, and continue this for almost 5 hours? And can you take some pictures, too? And if I need absolutely anything, will you get it for me? Oh yeah, and it's supposed to be raining buckets all day, too."

As I ran up the final hill, I was SERIOUSLY considering crawling. It was steep and I was beat. I actually requested to the lady with the camera (didn't catch her name...not a surprise considering my current cognitive function) NOT take photos of me, as I was going to crawl. She pretended not to hear me, so I kept hiking, pushing my knees into the ground with everything my arms could muster. A couple times I tried to run, but that was an utter failure.

Alas, the top of the hill, and what's the reward? A DOWNHILL FINISH! I came across in 4:40:something, with Helen right behind me. As a volunteer worked on tearing off my bib (sorry 'bout that pin job), Matt had a camera in my face, telling me to "say something profound." I believe I said something about how that course is "a 50K that feels like a 50 miler." Considering Matt just completed a trail 100 miler, he likely didn't agree. Considering I've never run a TRAIL 50 miler, I'm not sure I agree, either. What I meant by that was that this 50K was more difficult than my Fall 50 experience last year, but a LOT more fun, too.

We hung around at the finish for quite a while, talking to new friends (who I can actually call friends, now that they're not just known via Blogs) and sharing stories about the run. The homemade chili was amazing, and the different foods to choose from were even better. I enjoyed a couple Leinies and took a trip around the Ice Age Center, which is top notch too! As I mentioned at the beginning of this novel of a race report, this was the most fun I've ever had at a run. The volunteers were phenomenal. There were photographers (much like the lakes--FIFTY in all in 15.5 miles of trail) EVERYWHERE.

Helen drinking some 'Recovery Drink.' Nic drinking Beer. I also defeated Helen in post-race beer drinking, 2-1.

One of the most memorable parts of the second half of the run, when I saw hardly anyone, was walking across the boardwalk pictured here. I was running hard that entire second half, but when I got to this section, I stopped, walked, and looked around to soak it all in, but not fall in and get soaked :). It was surreal. As I approached the end of the boardwalk, a photographer sitting in a tree greeted me with a friendly "Hello." He scared me a bit--glad I was on solid ground again--but put a big smile on my face. This event had it all!

More photos available here.

Best part of the day? In a participant raffle, I won some home brew made by Matt!

4:40, 13th overall, 13 minute negative split!

My Garmin Connect Link: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/4307493

Next Stop: Chippewa!

In one hour the office closes and I'm on my way to Chippewa Falls.

And after checking the weather, I've packed a snorkel.

Hopefully you'll be hearing from me on Saturday from the friendly confines of my house...and not the I.C.U.

Can't wait to run! Revenge of The Stick

• I'll be going from running on trail terrain like this and this to terrain like this. Don't get me wrong--it's still trail, and it's still the Ice Age Trail, and last year they got 6" of snow on race day. I'm simply saying that my confidence is a bit higher than it would normally be because of the rugged Ice Age Trail that I've trained on around here. Steve, Helen, Wynn (all have run the Glacial Trail 50 and the Chippewa 50K) have actually been on both segments, so I guess they can totally destroy my confidence with a well-placed comment. Thanks in advance, Helen :)
• This run was fantastic. This week of running, with Thursday and Saturday big trail days, were great. I'm hoping that Saturday run, where I covered about 24 in 4:30 was a sign of things to come. I felt great, even when done running, and could have done another loop quite easily. There was one point about 3.5 hours into that run where I felt a bonk coming on, but the SCaps worked great and I kept going. As I mentioned in the post, the varying terrain of the trails really helps preserve legs!
• Aside from the shoe snafu reported on here (sidenote: SteveQ, your comment was hilarious), my last really hard run was awesome. I ran hard the entire time and felt great doing it. An 8:02 pace (with stops for water/gels/removal of sticks from extremities) for over 15 miles on that terrain is the kind of run I'll come back to in the future to gauge my fitness. Then again, the above-mentioned Wynn ran 8:45 pace on that terrain for 50 MILES. Show-off. (sidenote #2: the course record for that race is an 8:37 pace. Unbelievable)
• I'm really hoping to run a negative split on the course, and that's about it for strategy. I've always joked that if I beat all the women, it's been a good race. Unfortunately for me, this race looks pretty stacked, so I'll just stick to my "run-the-first-half-at-a-pace-that-you-think-you-can-finish-with-a-negative-split" strategy, and we'll see. Afterwards...let the Leinies flow!
• All of the above was written Tuesday night. This morning I ran a 5K at what I wanted to be a decent clip. Result: 18:40. Throbbing heel. Really fatigued feeling. Scratch all that talk before about "negative split." Ellie picked a splinter out of it yesterday, but it's still sore. No offense to Ellie, but it may be time for some professional evaluation and scalpel work. No matter what, I'm going to Chippewa though!

Next Year...

I'll be there.

I can't wait.

An Open Letter to New Balance:

To Whom it May Concern at New Balance (i.e. whoever is willing to give me some stuff):

My favorite pair of shoes has always been the New Balance 790's. They're super light, feel like a slipper, have a low heel, and have decreased dramatically the number of times I roll my ankle when trail running. And they look pretty cool. After today's run, however, they're no longer my favorite.

As you know, friends at New Balance, the shoe features something you call "Rock Stop" (which you've apparently copyrighted) in the forefoot of the shoe. It isn't included in the heel of the shoe, and I guess I wasn't aware of this...until today, when a STICK WENT STRAIGHT THROUGH THE HEEL OF MY SHOE AND INTO MY FOOT.

Now, I know it's called "Rock Stop," and not "Stick Stop," but I would assume you'd agree that if it's strong enough to stop rocks, a stick should be no match for it. Unfortunately, after today's run, the scoreboard reads Stick: 1, My Heel, zero.

I know what you're thinking, NB. You're thinking to yourself that if a runner uses a more minimal shoe such as the 790, they better be the kind of runner that lands on their midfoot, and doesn't heel strike, therefore eliminating the need for Rock Stop in the heel. I'd agree. And I do land on my midfoot, except when I'm running steep downhills, where it's nearly impossible to not heelstrike. Here's a photo of the stick (the part sticking up is what did the damage), which after removing it from my flesh, I carried it along for the remaining 9 miles of the run:

This photo shows the weak point in the shoe, where perhaps some "Rock Stop" could help a bit:

When it happened, I somehow managed to NOT fall down the hill, hopping on my left foot before finally bracing myself on a tree to see what the heck happened. After removing the stick, I limped a bit but felt fine for the rest of the run. As soon as I was done and back in the car, the foot started to throb. "Not Good..." were my first thoughts.

After taking off my shoe and noticing a dark stain in the heel, I was really hoping it was dirt. Nope. That's blood, folks:

Inside puncture hole:

A bit of ice and the heel is feeling better. However, I know it would feel a LOT better with some sympathy from you at New Balance in the form of running-related apparel.

I look forward to hearing from you. That is all.

nwgdc

____________________________________________

For the run, Garmin reads 14.77 miles, with a 158 AvgHR. As I had mentioned, Garmin reads short in on trails, so I'm going with the Wisconsin DNR's measurement (risky, I know). The chart here says I ran 15.68 miles. 8:02 pace. I'm definitely happy with that.

Considering the terrain I was running on, I'm pretty happy with the pace! I'm not exactly sure of the terrain of the IAT at Chippewa, but I'm hoping it's tamer than the trails I was on today. Then again, I'm sure there are going to be sticks up there too, so who knows. :)

Peak Training

This past week and the beginning part of next week are making up my heavy training for Chippewa. I'm really trying to spend a bunch of time on trails, and this week I managed 56 miles!

Monday: Uneventful 6 miles around town.

Tuesday: 4 miles in the morning with Parsenn, 6 in the afternoon at Walla Hi County Park, once again completely flustered by the trails out there. I think I have an idea about this place, though, and am excited to go back out and see if I've gotten the place figured out.

Wednesday: Big fat ZERO.

Thursday was a solid 2 hours on the Ice Age Trail. At the time, I was a bit discouraged about how many miles I covered (12) but I'm starting to think that the Greenbush area doesn't have great satellite reception, and perhaps the 405 may be registering the runs a bit short due to that and the fact the trail changes direction every 10 feet. I took a couple pictures of this run--the trail was fantastic, and my running partner (Bonnie the hyper Yellow Lab) had a blast too...although she couldn't stand to pose for a picture...

Friday was a BUSY day at the office (we closed early for Good Friday services) followed by a wonderful night with family decorating Easter Eggs. I had big plans for Saturday morning, so I did my best to rest the legs.

Saturday morning I was out the door by 6:45 AM and in the Greenbush Trails parking lot by 7:15. I had packed a cooler full of gels, shot bloks, and S!Caps along with a 2 gallon jug of water. After finding a picnic table to put it on, I began my run. My hopes were to get in 24 miles on the trails...or 4 hours. Whatever came first. I really wanted to get my legs fatigued and "bonk" a bit so that I could get a better idea of how my body would react. This was going to be the first of two "long" runs on trails in my final training for Chippewa. In short, I absolutely LOVED IT!

I first ran an hour and a half on my own, absolutely loving the soft single track moutain bike trails. Ellie then came out after yoga, so I ran with her around on the trails for another hour and a half. She was supposed to run 10 road miles in her training for Grandma's, so 90 minutes on trails was probably pretty close. After she left, I downed another gel, refilled the water bottle, took 2 S!Caps, and went back out for another couple loops. I had a couple rough spots on that last loop, but all in all, I felt great! Saturday's run ended up being 4 hours and 22 minutes, with Garmin saying I covered 22 miles. As I had mentioned, I was beginning to think the 405 was measuring short on these trails, so I ran a couple loops of which the mileage was known to see what the 405 would come up with. Sure enough, a loop that was 1.5 miles in length only measured 1.41 on the 405. Because of this, I'm calling my run 24 miles in 4:22.

The best part of that run is that my legs felt GREAT today. It's amazing how gentle the trail can be. So many different muscles get used that your legs stay so much happier! I'm hoping to extend this heavy running through Thursday, when I'll get in another 4 hours on the trails around here. After that, it's time to relax a bit and let the chips fall where they may for Chippewa! I have NO IDEA what time is possible for a trail 50k, but I'm excited to (finally) meet a bunch of runners I only know via Google Reader and find out along the way.

Trailbreaker Marathon Report

This was my second time running the Trailbreaker (I ran it in 2007, finishing in 3:50). After yesterday's run, I'm leaning heavily towards making it a yearly event. The unique nature of the run makes it a great training run for upcoming events. The race starts in Frame Park in Waukesha, runs 11 miles along the Glacial Drumlin Trail (a very flat and paved rails-to-trails type setting) with a gradual uphill climb from miles 6 to 10.
At 11 miles the course leaves the Glacial Drumlin Trail for the Ice Age Trail, where the participants stumble, trip, and slog through mud to the top of Lapham Peak. The "half-way" point of the marathon occurs when the participants climp to the top of the 45 foot observation tower. It's actually a bit past the half-way point--once the tower is climbed, there's only about 12.5 miles yet to run.
The race BEGINS once you're off the Ice Age Trail. Any over-ambitious running in miles 1-11 will be paid for dearly after your quads, calves, and ankles have been abused by the IAT climb to the tower, and then the actual climb of the tower. I learned this yesterday.
My plan going in to this marathon was to really aim for a negative split, keeping my HR under 160 for the first half, going easy on the trail portion of the run out, enjoying the time on the trail, then picking up the pace once I was safely back on pavement. That plan lasted less than one mile, as I cruised through the opening mile in 6:56.
Only 85 runners took on the marathon this year, leaving me dangerously close to the front runners. In the early miles I could see all of the runners ahead of me. All 9 of them.
I eventually settled in to a nice pace, keeping my HR between 150 and 155, and was clipping off miles from 6:52 (the magical sub-3 hour marathon pace) to 7:10. A decent distance in front of me were 3 runners together. One was a prior winner of the Trailbreaker, and another I recognized from this past January's Icebreaker marathon. It was easy to recognize his tree-trunk thighs and calves, covered only in spandex (He's a former elite speedskater, I later found out. That explains the NFL running back like legs). I remember him finishing in the top 3 at the Icebreaker. This information reminded me to watch my pace. I should be nowhere near these guys! If a former winner is running this easy at this point, I have no business thinking I should be passing him.
In all honesty, the first 11 miles are dreadfully boring. Only 3 or 4 aid stations and nobody else around allowed me to develop a nice rhythm and simply enjoy the run. As I began the gradual climb in mile 7, I started to feel my legs a little bit. I popped an S-Cap and took in a little water and that really did the trick. I've really gotten away from taking in a lot of sports drink during marathons, and the electrolyte stuff, along with Clif Shot Bloks, worked well for me. By the time I reached the Ice Age Trail portion of the run, I was feeling great again.
The beginning portion of the trail was sloppy. There were stretches of the trail that was straight mud and I did my best to avoid (a) falling on my @$$ and (b) getting my shoes completely caked in mud. While I didn't fall down at all, my shoes got noticeably heavier at this time. Also, the 3 runners I mentioned absolutely TOOK OFF. I thought I was moving decent on the trail, but apparently not. The two experienced runners mentioned above went on to finish 2nd and 5th.
Mile 12 was 7:42. Mile 13 included the climb up the trail to the tower and resulted in a 9:08 pace. Posing for some pictures at the tower, then heading back down brought mile 14 up to 10:26.
As soon as I started the descent, I knew I had gone out too quick and then pushed too hard (despite the slow times) during my time climbing up the trail. After getting back on the pavement, I simply wanted to get my HR to stabilize and also get my breathing under control. Things weren't feeling good at this point, and the last thing I wanted to do was death march the last 5 or 6 miles and get passed by a bunch of people (the out-and-back nature of the trail allowed me to realize I was in 7th, but 10-12 minutes behind 6th. As I mentioned, it was amazing how much those guys took off from me once on the trail. I'm not sure this bodes well for the Chippewa 50K coming up...).
My pace quickened and things started looking better as the miles went on. Miles 15-19 progressively improved without any change in HR (7:55, 7:48, 7:33, 7:06, 7:03), but I knew that I needed another S-Cap. I asked my crew (my mom) to grab the "pills" out of the bag in the car. Unfortunately, she grabbed the nuun tablets, but not the pills. This resulted in me standing around while she ran back to the car and got them. The NERVE OF HER! Who doesn't know the difference between an S-Cap capsule and a nuun Tablet! Gosh!
(Joking)
As most of you have probably experienced, once you stop, it's tough to get that magical 'rhythm' back again. My miles from here on out were a bit more labored and the pace slowed to 7:17 average from Mile 20-24. And then the wheels really came off.
I've mentioned this before, but I'm always amazed at how quickly things can go downhill. Despite my slower pace from 20-24, I had actually caught two of the runners in front of me. I decided I would wait until the last mile, then try to kick past them and finish strong. Unfortunately Mile 25 got really ugly. I was done. The quads felt swollen--as if I had been doing jump squats with 250 lbs on my back--and my running shuffle was starting to resemble a stagger. Mile 25: 7:43.
Just get this over with. I was no longer having fun. I even walked a bit during the last mile. My eyes were even starting to blur the vision also. I knew I was going to be fine, but I needed to get this over with. Finally, with the Garmin reading 25.97 miles (I think it missed the 'mileage' covered by walking up and down the tower), I finished the Trailbreaker Marathon in 3:15:59, 8th/85. Mile 26: 8:25 pace.
Today I got out for a little bit of running to get the mileage up to 50 for the week. I'm really not that sore at all today and am looking to get in another 50 miles this week before beginning to taper for Chippewa. The most important lesson I learned from this event was that I need to get some time on the trails under my feet before Chippewa. Hopefully next week, between family-related Easter activities, I can get out on the Ice Age Trail for a couple hours.
All in all, though, as I mentioned, I really liked this event. Very low key (no medal for finishing, just a gray tshirt), low entry cost, free beer after.

Hello, Wall.

• Overall, I'm happy.
• Absolutely beautiful weather!
• If you're going to run 3 miles uphill on the Ice Age Trail, and THEN climb an observation tower, and then run 13 more miles, take it easy during the 11 miles on the way to the trail. Oops.
• If you don't follow the above instructions, you'll bonk pretty bad at the end and make the "Player" feature in Garmin Connect take an excruciatingly long amount of time to finish the last 1.5 miles. Seriously, it's worth checking out. Click on the link, then click on "Player" (upper right), then click play. Talk about a death march! Genuine Comedy.
• Time for Beer.
• 3:15:59, 8th overall, 2nd 20-29
• To quote chia, "brb."

MidWeek RunDown

Mon: Zero miles. I was still basking in the glory of my race last weekend, but had planned on getting out for 5 miles. Then Ellie shared with me the fact that Top Gear's Season Finale episode was on. Open beer. Plant self on couch. Laugh.
Tue: Zero Miles. Again, I had my running gear at the office to take off after work and put in 5-10 miles. Then it rained and got really windy. I got really wimpy and rode home. My plans to get 50 miles in for the week took another hit.
Wed: 7 at 7:29 pace, AvgHR 156. Yes! I left work and ran 2 miles home, then picked up Parsenn and ran another 5. Finally! I'm really starting to like Garmin Connect, too (if only the pages would load faster! It's as if I have dial-up. Okay, it's not that slow. Does anyone still have dial up? If so, I can't even imagine the dedication it must take to write long but hilariously entertaining posts and comments. Yikes.) Anyway, back to Garmin Connect. As you can see here, there are 5 spikes in my pace over 10 minute miles. The first, very large spike is when I arrived home and pick up Parsenn. I actually entered the place in the front door, got Parsenn, and exited the back door, with the 405 picking it up the entire way. I never stopped the watch either after learning that if I do, then it automatically starts downloading the info from the run and screws up my continuation of the run. The second spike is Parsenn pooping. You'll see a pattern here. The third spike? Parsenn pretending to poop so as to gain a little rest to stare at the geese in the river. The 4th spike occurred waiting to cross a street. Yes, there are busy streets occasionally here. Finally, the 5th spike is me stopping, (Parsenn took this opportunity to pop a squat once again)then realizing I had only run 6.89 miles and then continuing on, running in a circle, to get up to 7 miles.
Thu: 11 Miles at 7:28 pace, 159 AvgHR. I was hoping to run 15 miles, but my hamstrings and calves are still sore from the speed work last weekend, and considering I'm running a marathon this weekend, I figured I'd cut it a bit shorter. I still want to get in 50 miles this week, so we'll see about some Parsenn Pace (although that pace isn't really that slow anymore) tomorrow or some real leisure running on Sunday. We shall see.

I really don't know how to approach this event. It's got relatively flat rails-to-trails pavement with a chunk of Ice Age Trail in the middle:

"The Marathon course covers approximately four miles of city streets and sidewalks, 15 miles of improved trails (including the Glacial Drumlin Trail), and 7 miles of the Ice Age Trail. Miles 10 through 16 are extremely rugged. Except for the Ice Age Trail, the trail is subject to only gentle grades. Marathon turn-around is the top of the 40' Lapham Peak tower, where you will run up the tower, Ring the Bell, You're half the way home, the highest point in Waukesha county, with spectacular views of the surrounding like country. The Marathon has a 5.5-hour cut-off. Net climb on the way out is 438 feet; the net drop on the way back is 438 feet. Aid stations will be located at intervals between 3 and 4 miles, with a bag drop at the third aid station (behind Saxe's Restaurant). An annual or daily Wisconsin State Park sticker is needed to park at the Lapham Peak Tower. Crew access availability at aid stations."

(Sidenote: WTF is with this gap in the post up there ^? I give up trying to fix it. And WTF is with "Compose?" I get "Edit HTML." But "Compose?") (Sidenote to sidenote...fixed?) When I ran this event in '07, I witnessed several runners skip the "run up the tower and ring the bell" portion of the course. They simply re-stocked at the aid station at the base of the tower and then took off back down the trail. I paid for that d@mn tower, and I will ring the bell in the middle. Also in '07, I rolled my ankle BAD coming back down from the tower and had a relatively MISERABLE second half of the run, finishing in 3:47. Regardless of how I decide to pace myself (I'm a big fan of the negative split), I'm hoping to be done in less than 3:30...perhaps even less than 3:20?

We shall see! Look for an update on Saturday!