Well, this was it. My one race for 2008. McNaughton, Ice Age, and Kettle were all skipped due to injuries and here I was on Michigan Avenue, as ready as ever to start the event I had been trainig for all year.
It had been quite a long ride, to say the least. I was so motivated for this race, but the training did not quite reflect it. My ITB injury from December carried well into the summer and did not fully heal until I started tapering for the race(3 weeks out). To add to the IT problems, my right knee caused a considerable amount of pain during the summer when I started increasing mileage. That was not too bad as it went away after a couple weeks, but running became quite frustrating.
Then came the shinsplints. This came up right after my best month of training~ 250 miles in July(during which I only took four days off completely from running). I was right on track for where I should have been for Chicago, but got completely screwed over by this. I took 5 days off to start August(more than all of July), but the shin pain continued to bother me until about 2 weeks before the marathon.
To cap things off, 10 days before the race, I did 8 mile repeats on the ISU track at sub 6 minute pace. The next couple days, my right IT band was flaming up, forcing me to take it back a bit and have just one more thing to worry about for the race.
All these injuries made training shaky, to say the least. I had a decent month in June and even better month of July. I only ran about 100 miles during all of August, but then laid it back on in September. I ran five 20 milers in September alone, 3 of which were in a period of seven days. I can't help but think that I may have overtrained for the race.
For Chicago, I did track work for the first time ever, although this may not have been such a good idea so close to the race. It was largely responsible for IT, knee, and shin problems(Wow! You think I should stay away from the track?).
I prefer having consistent months of training, but the way things are looking, this does not seem to be possible for me. Oh well, Chicago here I come!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Frontier Days 10K Stampede Run
The night before the race, Matt & I met at the Waterfall Glen trail in Darien, IL to get a run in on the XTreme 10 course. The 18 mile run that was supposed to be taken easy turned into an 18 mile race between the two of us and we really wore ourselves out. We must have covered some of the miles in under 6:30 as we were really cooking out there. I will humbly add that I pulled away from Matt after 16 miles or so and sprinted over the last mile. Competitive? Maybe just a tad.
When we got back, we had to make some last minute errands and by the time we finished and ate dinner, it was already 11:30. We fell asleep almost immediately.
I woke up to the alarm at 6:15 a little tired, but ready to run. OK, maybe not excited to be running, but whatever, I was up. We ate some breakfast and got everything we needed together. I was concerned about my right knee and left IT band a little bit as both were a little sore.
We got to the race and had to park about 1/4 mile from the start. The jog to packet pickup was disheartening to say the least. My knee was hurting and I was exhausted from the previous night's run. I was sweating while standing in line and was beginning to really question why I had decided to race 10 kilometers as I should have been satisfied with the "race" from the previous day.
When we got back, we had to make some last minute errands and by the time we finished and ate dinner, it was already 11:30. We fell asleep almost immediately.
I woke up to the alarm at 6:15 a little tired, but ready to run. OK, maybe not excited to be running, but whatever, I was up. We ate some breakfast and got everything we needed together. I was concerned about my right knee and left IT band a little bit as both were a little sore.
We got to the race and had to park about 1/4 mile from the start. The jog to packet pickup was disheartening to say the least. My knee was hurting and I was exhausted from the previous night's run. I was sweating while standing in line and was beginning to really question why I had decided to race 10 kilometers as I should have been satisfied with the "race" from the previous day.
There was a 5K that was also going on, so we tried to position ourselves away from these runners to not get caught up too early on. Soon enough, the gun went off. It was not long before I realized that today was not a good day for me to race. Not even a mile into it, Matt started to move ahead. We passed mile 1 just over 6 minutes, I want to say 6:03, something like that. Very unimpressive considering that I was already dying. Had I been feeling good, I still would have been moving slow. This was going to be one long 10K
Of course, Matt seemed unfazed by the pace. He was still talking regularly, joking around, and pretty much cruising. Just after the first mile, he was out of talking distance so I had to yell for him to hear me. I was pretty beat and was really feeling the effects of the heat and the prior day’s run. My legs were just real heavy and I couldn’t get a whole lot out of them.
Around 2 ½ miles, we split with the 5K runners. While it was encouraging to see that I had a decent position, I no longer had the pull from a large group of runners. I was by myself with Matt just a bit ahead of me. A guy wearing gym shorts and headphones passed me! Now that was embarrassing.
Around 4 miles, we passed a sprinkler and some water stops, which was encouraging, but all I could think about was getting the damn thing over with. It was hot and a little sprinkle didn’t do much for me. Plus, I had already screwed up the pace. For an endurance runner, you would think that I would be a bit better at controlling pace. Maybe it was just my ego that needed to be controlled.
A little while later, there was a turnaround where we passed other runners. I was seriously considering giving Matt the finger (very appropriate I know, something is probably wrong with me), but there were other runners around him and I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea.
We reached a slight uphill, which was followed by a ½ mile straightaway that led towards the final turn and eventual finish line. I made a strong push to catch the damn guy in the headphones, but couldn’t manage it. I ended up sprinting into the finish to record a time of 39:00. Pretty disappointing, but I guess I could only be so upset given the circumstances. Matt finished over a minute and a half ahead of me. I guess I’ll just have to catch him another time. . .
Monday, June 23, 2008
Kettle 100 - Relay Style
The Kettle Moraine 100 is a group of trail runs that take place on the Ice Age Trail in LaGrange, WI. There is a 100-miler, 100K, 100- mile relay, and the 38-mile "fun run"(I know, doesn't quite fit in with the standard idea of fun). The trail is mostly single-track with a total elevation change of 24,000, pretty substantial for a runner from Central Illinois, but apparently a cakewalk for Westerners. Last year, I ran the 100 mile option, my first (and so far only) 100 mile run. I had a solid race, but really slowed down after the 86 mile aid station and lost a couple hours(I know, so close to the finish!). Nevertheless, I finished in under 24 hours and was bit with the "Kettle" bug. So this year, when fellow Tri-Birds Matt, Jon, and Travis expressed interest in the race, I had to do it (especially since I couldn't do the 100 miler as a result of a nagging IT injury from December).
Matt, Jon, and I met up on Friday, the day before the race and drove into Wisconsin to embark on our version of the Kettle 100. We pulled into LaGrange around 6, picked up our packets, got a 15 minute warmup on the trail, and caught up with last year’s 100-mile winner Mark Tanaka. After that, we grabbed some dinner at a wonderful diner(with a pretty
cute waitress), drove out to our hotel, relaxed in the hotel’s hot tub and called it a night around 11.
I woke up around 3(everybody was as excited as me as Matt didn’t seem too happy about my moving about), but couldn’t really go back to sleep until our alarm went off around 4. Matt and I grabbed some breakfast, talked race strategy and drove off to the start witnessing a 5 am sunrise.
Matt, Jon, and myself after our pre-race jog, getting pumped for the race!
We pulled up to the start of the race with Matt blasting some heavy metal/screaming music on his radio. We must have looked pretty ridiculous to say the least. Matt hit the bathroom a couple times (being on a very high fiber diet has its setbacks) and I chatted with some of the other runners I had met in years past, including Bill Thom, who was a part of our Western States crew(not to mention 2006 Grand Slam finisher) and another runner that I had met in the medical tent at the finish of the 2006 Ice Age 50.
Around 5 minutes til 6, race directors Timo Yanacheck and Jason Dorgan gave last minute race instructions and warned of the potential for storms later in the evening. With that and a friendly reminder to not litter on the trails, the countdown for the start began and at 6 am sharp the runners took off. Matt started off near the front, but was not quite with the leaders.
I drove over to the Bluff aid station(mile 7.5) in anticipation of Matt’s arrival. To my surprise, when I heard the aid station captain announce the first runner, Matt came around the corner by himself. I had expected a competitive relay race or an overzealous 100 miler to be leading, but Team Psychic Mary was in the lead!
I caught him again at Emma Carlin(mile 15) where he was still looking strong and extending his lead over the rest of the field. He stopped for a minute to fill up his camelback and took off into the meadow portion of the course, the section with the least sun cover. I stuck around to see Tanaka pull in, who was about 10 minutes behind Matt. Not much later came 2nd place runner Zach Gingerich and last year’s runner up, Joe Kulak.
Matt seemed tired at Hwy 67(mile 24), but I suppose running nearly a marathon in warm weather through pretty hilly terrain will do that for you. He took his time and pulled out only minutes before Tanaka came through.
At Hwy ZZ(mile 27), Matt came in looking strong and I encouraged him to gut it out to the finish. The very last section of his leg is hilly and it would not be easy. However, it was almost time for me to start running and I was pumped!
I waited around at Scuppernong(mile 31.5) in just shoes and my running shorts. I may have looked a little ridiculous, but with the warm weather, I believe I was justified. I was sweating just standing around and tried to relax as much as possible before starting my leg. The people at the aid station were very friendly and one of the guys there showed me a great stretch for my worthless IT band. After 4 hours and 36 minutes of running, Matt pulled into Scuppernong in first place! He handed over the bib and I took off running.
I was so relieved to finally be running, it had been a pretty tiring morning driving around and crewing! About a quarter mile after leaving the aid station, I saw Tanaka running towards me, still leading the 100 mile run. Soon after, I ran into Gingerich, Kulak, and the rest of the pack.
Throughout the first miles, I was running to my own rhythm. I felt great and was trying to put as much distance between me and the runners behind me. I also was planning on running faster than Matt. I ran up most of the hills, rarely walking so I would make up as much time as possible. I flew through Hwy ZZ and 67 feeling great and at about 10 miles into the run, I reached the meadow.
This is where things started to take a turn for the worse. It was now a little bit after noon and temps were in the mid 80’s, not too mention the incredible humidity that is accompanied with the swampy conditions. I was also drinking a Gatorade/Pedialyte mixture, which didn't quite agree with my stomach. I still felt strong and was moving at a solid pace and figured that if I kept things up, I would be running a 4:30 or faster. Every couple minutes, I looked over my shoulder, half expecting to see a couple of the stronger 100 milers right behind me. I must have really underestimated my pace, because I now realize that I was moving a lot faster than what they could have managed after 31+ miles.
As I kept going, the Pedialyte solution tasted worse and worse. For a little while, I stopped drinking and would fill up my bottles with Wisconsin well water, which is also not the best idea, considering that you can taste whatever the hell else is in that concoction. After approximately 2 hours of solid running, I pulled into Emma Carlin where Matt was anxiously awaiting my arrival. Coming into Emma Carlin is a great feeling, because once you are at this point, you know that you will have tree cover for the rest of the race. I still felt that I could pull off a solid time, but did realize by now that it would be a difficult finish, considering I was only halfway at this point. I was only briefly in the station before leaving.
As soon as I started onto the trail, I had flashbacks of the year before when I was at this point in the race. The trail becomes pretty hilly at this point and this is where I had the most trouble in ’07. You're by yourself for quite some time and the sun is at its highest point. Well, this year was pretty similar as '07. Except worse.
I started to slow down at this point, but was still not moving too slowly. I was walking the uphills, but making decent time on the flats and descents. However, by the time I reached Horseman's aid station(i believe just after mile 50) I was pretty gone. At this point last year, I opened up the water faucet and laid underneath it to cool down. I was so excited to do the same this year, but unfortunately I couldn't open the faucet! Quite convenient. Waterless, I continued up the trail, which was now quite a steep climb. All I was doing at this point was hiking up the inclines.
With approximately 2 miles until Bluff(mile 55), I ran across a group of people who cheered me on, saying i was in first. I explained to them that I was just a part of the relay, but they still expressed support. That was the first human contact I had made since Emma Carlin and it definitely was uplifting even though it was shortlived. Finally, after mile of brutal hills(and passing the point i nearly got lost at the year before), I reached the top of the last hill and started the steep descent into the Bluff aid station. I shuffled down the hill and ran into the aid station, where Jon, Matt, and now Travis were enthusiastically waiting for me.
They were pretty upbeat even though I was moving really slow. Despite my condition, I got out of the aid station pretty quickly. I knew the last 7 1/2 miles of my leg would be pretty long as it was and i figured that staying in the aid station would only make them longer. This section was one of the worst of any race i have done before. I started getting bad stomach cramps so bad that I had to walk the downhills(my strongest point). To make matters worse, i was not drinking anything at all because my stomach was in such bad shape.
The section from Bluff to the Tamarack aid station(57.5) is only 2 1/2 miles, but it felt like it went on forever. I went up hill after hill, turn after turn, just expecting every turn to be the last. A couple of times I even shouted out to see if anyone could hear me. The thing was that I was moving so slow that the normal time it would take me to cover 2 1/2 miles was more like what I would normally run 5 miles in. Throw in the humidity, heat, isolation, and some annoying f****** bugs and this was one tough section.
After coming around the 100-something turn, I finally pulled into Tamarack. The aid station volunteers were relaxing and seemed a little surprised to see a runner(again, I was part of the relay, so they were only so excited). As soon as I got there, I took a seat. Immediately, they were asking what I needed, how things were going, and tried to help however possible. I explained the stomach cramp issue and how I couldn't drink anything. They informed me that all of the runners were slowing down and that the heat was really taking its toll on everyone. While they were explaining this, I eyed a can of LaCroix soda water and started sipping on it. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to fill my water bottle with it and take it with me on the trail. Now, I have done many stupid things, but this tops the charts.
When I left the aid station, my stomach felt good. . . for about 100 meters. Then, things got ugly again and from there on out, I would shuffle 100 steps, then walk 100 steps. The cramps were so bad that I could barely move. I tried to run it out, I really did. But my stomach wouldn't agree with me. I knew I was dehydrated when I peed a darker color than I ever had before. Definitely not a good sign. As I reached the sign announcing there were 4 miles left, I started to really question what I was doing out there. Dehydration is what led me to the ambulance during my last Ironman attempt, the difference here was that I still had 4 miles to go on my own before I would come into contact with anybody that could help me. Kinda scary. At the top of one hill, I laid down for a minute and considered napping. Then I remembered Matt making fun of me for doing that last year so I quickly got up. Great motivation, right?
Well, I was still pretty warm and really needed to cool down. I looked at my water bottle which was full of soda water and decided it would be a good idea to pour it all over me. Why not, I mean why waste your liquids on hydration? Now, I was hot, sticky, tired, delusional, and just about fed up with this whole damn race. Luckily, when I was 3 miles out, the clouds decided to come out, relieving the heat from the day. Had this not happened, I don't know how much longer I would have been out on the course.
Finally, I reached the 2 mile mark and shortly(relatively speaking) afterwards I only had 1 more mile to go. I started running(9 minute mile at fastest) and planned to run the entire mile without stopping. About half a mile out, I saw Matt who was waiting to run in with me. Together we shuffled into the finish, where I handed my bib to Travis and immediately laid down. My time for the 31 miles was 5:06:45 which was a 9:54 pace. I don't know how I even managed to get under 10 minutes, I don't even want to know how slow the last 10 miles were.
Myself looking awfully ridiculous at the finish of my run
But now our team was at 9 hours, 42 minutes and Travis was out there running. He took off, making me very nervous, but in all honesty I was just happy to be sitting down.
We saw Travis next at mile 70(7.5 miles for him). He was looking good and seemed to be having a blast. He was caught in a little rain and came in a little wet, but that just added to his excitement. However, a larger storm was starting to come in and it was looking pretty rough. We heard from one of the guys that dropped that he could have sworn he heard the tornadoes, which were only miles from portions of the course. I saw Joe Kulak come in at 55 miles and he looked pretty beat. Not to mention just about every other runner on the course.
After leaving this station, the weather got worse. It started pouring, the winds picked up and just got real nasty. Travis was out there all by himself for the next 8 miles and he would be running without seeing another human in middle of this incredible storm. We were just hoping that he would make it to Highway 12(mile 77) in one piece(and without getting lost).
We got over to Hwy 12 to find the aid station in pieces. The aid station captain showed us a tent that was destroyed by the storm, the metal had actually been bent by the incredible winds. He also notified us of a couple tornadoes that had passed by, one being very close to where we had stayed the night before.
After chatting with him, we saw Travis come through, still looking strong considering that he had run a hard 15 miles through a very hilly section. He was out just as soon as he got in, and headed to the last 4 miles of his leg, and probably the most difficult on the entire course. The hills from Hwy 12(77) to Rice Lake(81) and back to Hwy 12(86) were what killed me the year before. There are a couple steep hills that really work you.
When we got to Rice Lake, I went onto the course just to do a little post-storm inspection and catch Travis over his last quarter-mile. As soon as I took about 20 steps onto the course, I realized just how much the storm had done. One of the small bridges was submerged and the water level had definitely rose. To add to that, the greenery was overgrown and I had to duck quite a bit to make it very far. After about 15 minutes of thinking I heard a runner coming up, Travis came charging by. A few seconds later, I heard the yelling from our party, marking Travis' entry into Rice Lake. Then I caught Jon, who was charging back towards me onto the trail to run the final leg of the relay. You could tell he was pumped to finally be running(Can't blame him, he had been waiting around all day long!).
We caught up with Travis, who was looking very good all things considered. He was pretty excited about the run and kept mentioning how tough the hills were over the last section. He had almost gotten lost at one point because the storm had done some damage to the course markings. After getting him a shirt, we drove back to catch Jon at Hwy 12(mile 86).
Jon came in looking strong, yet a little winded from the past 4 miles of hills. He was only there momentarily before taking off again into the woods. Soon after coming in, the lead 100 miler, Joel Eckburg(2:33 marathoner and '08 McNaughton 50 Mile winner) came in. He was definitely tired, but when I saw him heading out to Rice Lake, he was still moving very well. He was putting together quite an impressive performance and had really done a good job of pacing himself in the heat. We waited around for a while to see who was in 2nd place, but apparently he was way ahead of anybody else.
It was beginning to get dark when we arrived at Bluff(the 4th time that day). There was a lot more coming and going from this point and the aid station was fairly active. I kept thinking how nuts it was, seeing people heading back to the 100K, knowing that 15 miles later they would still be in the exact same spot. Brutal. All of a sudden, we saw Jon cruising towards us. He was running very strong and actually looked better at this point then he did 8 miles prior. I ran alongside him to give him his light.
I have never seen anybody hungrier/thirstier at an aid station before. He ate just about everything he could get his hands on--sandwiches, fruit, m&m's, you name it, he ate it. He even took off with a half gallon of water!
Well, after 15 1/2 hours of running/crewing we made it to the finish line to catch Jon. After standing in the woods and being eaten alive for mosquitoes, we saw a fast moving flashlight(it had been dark for quite some time). We called out Jon's name, but we got no response. As the runner went by us, i mentioned to Matt that the runner looked like Jon. We said his name again, to which we heard a "mghmph". "Jon!" we all cried. We took off after him and crossed the finish line in 15 hours, 48 minutes, and 44 seconds.
It was great to finally finish off our crazy race, but it was even better knowing that we were finally going to get some sleep. We drove to Jon's house in Arlington Heights, put down a few beers, ate about half of the food in the house and crashed. Day over.
Results for the race are available at http://www.kettle100.com/Finisher%20Results%20for%20Website%202008.htm.
Joel Eckburg and Darla Brader won the 100 miler while Christine Crawford and Matt Aro won the 100K(Christine was the overall winner). Congrats to everyone that made it through the brutal conditions, finishing was quite an accomplishment today.
Matt, Jon, and I met up on Friday, the day before the race and drove into Wisconsin to embark on our version of the Kettle 100. We pulled into LaGrange around 6, picked up our packets, got a 15 minute warmup on the trail, and caught up with last year’s 100-mile winner Mark Tanaka. After that, we grabbed some dinner at a wonderful diner(with a pretty
cute waitress), drove out to our hotel, relaxed in the hotel’s hot tub and called it a night around 11.I woke up around 3(everybody was as excited as me as Matt didn’t seem too happy about my moving about), but couldn’t really go back to sleep until our alarm went off around 4. Matt and I grabbed some breakfast, talked race strategy and drove off to the start witnessing a 5 am sunrise.
Matt, Jon, and myself after our pre-race jog, getting pumped for the race!
We pulled up to the start of the race with Matt blasting some heavy metal/screaming music on his radio. We must have looked pretty ridiculous to say the least. Matt hit the bathroom a couple times (being on a very high fiber diet has its setbacks) and I chatted with some of the other runners I had met in years past, including Bill Thom, who was a part of our Western States crew(not to mention 2006 Grand Slam finisher) and another runner that I had met in the medical tent at the finish of the 2006 Ice Age 50.
Around 5 minutes til 6, race directors Timo Yanacheck and Jason Dorgan gave last minute race instructions and warned of the potential for storms later in the evening. With that and a friendly reminder to not litter on the trails, the countdown for the start began and at 6 am sharp the runners took off. Matt started off near the front, but was not quite with the leaders.
I drove over to the Bluff aid station(mile 7.5) in anticipation of Matt’s arrival. To my surprise, when I heard the aid station captain announce the first runner, Matt came around the corner by himself. I had expected a competitive relay race or an overzealous 100 miler to be leading, but Team Psychic Mary was in the lead!
I caught him again at Emma Carlin(mile 15) where he was still looking strong and extending his lead over the rest of the field. He stopped for a minute to fill up his camelback and took off into the meadow portion of the course, the section with the least sun cover. I stuck around to see Tanaka pull in, who was about 10 minutes behind Matt. Not much later came 2nd place runner Zach Gingerich and last year’s runner up, Joe Kulak.
Matt seemed tired at Hwy 67(mile 24), but I suppose running nearly a marathon in warm weather through pretty hilly terrain will do that for you. He took his time and pulled out only minutes before Tanaka came through.
At Hwy ZZ(mile 27), Matt came in looking strong and I encouraged him to gut it out to the finish. The very last section of his leg is hilly and it would not be easy. However, it was almost time for me to start running and I was pumped!
I waited around at Scuppernong(mile 31.5) in just shoes and my running shorts. I may have looked a little ridiculous, but with the warm weather, I believe I was justified. I was sweating just standing around and tried to relax as much as possible before starting my leg. The people at the aid station were very friendly and one of the guys there showed me a great stretch for my worthless IT band. After 4 hours and 36 minutes of running, Matt pulled into Scuppernong in first place! He handed over the bib and I took off running.
I was so relieved to finally be running, it had been a pretty tiring morning driving around and crewing! About a quarter mile after leaving the aid station, I saw Tanaka running towards me, still leading the 100 mile run. Soon after, I ran into Gingerich, Kulak, and the rest of the pack.
Throughout the first miles, I was running to my own rhythm. I felt great and was trying to put as much distance between me and the runners behind me. I also was planning on running faster than Matt. I ran up most of the hills, rarely walking so I would make up as much time as possible. I flew through Hwy ZZ and 67 feeling great and at about 10 miles into the run, I reached the meadow.
This is where things started to take a turn for the worse. It was now a little bit after noon and temps were in the mid 80’s, not too mention the incredible humidity that is accompanied with the swampy conditions. I was also drinking a Gatorade/Pedialyte mixture, which didn't quite agree with my stomach. I still felt strong and was moving at a solid pace and figured that if I kept things up, I would be running a 4:30 or faster. Every couple minutes, I looked over my shoulder, half expecting to see a couple of the stronger 100 milers right behind me. I must have really underestimated my pace, because I now realize that I was moving a lot faster than what they could have managed after 31+ miles.
As I kept going, the Pedialyte solution tasted worse and worse. For a little while, I stopped drinking and would fill up my bottles with Wisconsin well water, which is also not the best idea, considering that you can taste whatever the hell else is in that concoction. After approximately 2 hours of solid running, I pulled into Emma Carlin where Matt was anxiously awaiting my arrival. Coming into Emma Carlin is a great feeling, because once you are at this point, you know that you will have tree cover for the rest of the race. I still felt that I could pull off a solid time, but did realize by now that it would be a difficult finish, considering I was only halfway at this point. I was only briefly in the station before leaving.
As soon as I started onto the trail, I had flashbacks of the year before when I was at this point in the race. The trail becomes pretty hilly at this point and this is where I had the most trouble in ’07. You're by yourself for quite some time and the sun is at its highest point. Well, this year was pretty similar as '07. Except worse.
I started to slow down at this point, but was still not moving too slowly. I was walking the uphills, but making decent time on the flats and descents. However, by the time I reached Horseman's aid station(i believe just after mile 50) I was pretty gone. At this point last year, I opened up the water faucet and laid underneath it to cool down. I was so excited to do the same this year, but unfortunately I couldn't open the faucet! Quite convenient. Waterless, I continued up the trail, which was now quite a steep climb. All I was doing at this point was hiking up the inclines.
With approximately 2 miles until Bluff(mile 55), I ran across a group of people who cheered me on, saying i was in first. I explained to them that I was just a part of the relay, but they still expressed support. That was the first human contact I had made since Emma Carlin and it definitely was uplifting even though it was shortlived. Finally, after mile of brutal hills(and passing the point i nearly got lost at the year before), I reached the top of the last hill and started the steep descent into the Bluff aid station. I shuffled down the hill and ran into the aid station, where Jon, Matt, and now Travis were enthusiastically waiting for me.
They were pretty upbeat even though I was moving really slow. Despite my condition, I got out of the aid station pretty quickly. I knew the last 7 1/2 miles of my leg would be pretty long as it was and i figured that staying in the aid station would only make them longer. This section was one of the worst of any race i have done before. I started getting bad stomach cramps so bad that I had to walk the downhills(my strongest point). To make matters worse, i was not drinking anything at all because my stomach was in such bad shape.
The section from Bluff to the Tamarack aid station(57.5) is only 2 1/2 miles, but it felt like it went on forever. I went up hill after hill, turn after turn, just expecting every turn to be the last. A couple of times I even shouted out to see if anyone could hear me. The thing was that I was moving so slow that the normal time it would take me to cover 2 1/2 miles was more like what I would normally run 5 miles in. Throw in the humidity, heat, isolation, and some annoying f****** bugs and this was one tough section.
After coming around the 100-something turn, I finally pulled into Tamarack. The aid station volunteers were relaxing and seemed a little surprised to see a runner(again, I was part of the relay, so they were only so excited). As soon as I got there, I took a seat. Immediately, they were asking what I needed, how things were going, and tried to help however possible. I explained the stomach cramp issue and how I couldn't drink anything. They informed me that all of the runners were slowing down and that the heat was really taking its toll on everyone. While they were explaining this, I eyed a can of LaCroix soda water and started sipping on it. For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to fill my water bottle with it and take it with me on the trail. Now, I have done many stupid things, but this tops the charts.
When I left the aid station, my stomach felt good. . . for about 100 meters. Then, things got ugly again and from there on out, I would shuffle 100 steps, then walk 100 steps. The cramps were so bad that I could barely move. I tried to run it out, I really did. But my stomach wouldn't agree with me. I knew I was dehydrated when I peed a darker color than I ever had before. Definitely not a good sign. As I reached the sign announcing there were 4 miles left, I started to really question what I was doing out there. Dehydration is what led me to the ambulance during my last Ironman attempt, the difference here was that I still had 4 miles to go on my own before I would come into contact with anybody that could help me. Kinda scary. At the top of one hill, I laid down for a minute and considered napping. Then I remembered Matt making fun of me for doing that last year so I quickly got up. Great motivation, right?
Well, I was still pretty warm and really needed to cool down. I looked at my water bottle which was full of soda water and decided it would be a good idea to pour it all over me. Why not, I mean why waste your liquids on hydration? Now, I was hot, sticky, tired, delusional, and just about fed up with this whole damn race. Luckily, when I was 3 miles out, the clouds decided to come out, relieving the heat from the day. Had this not happened, I don't know how much longer I would have been out on the course.
Finally, I reached the 2 mile mark and shortly(relatively speaking) afterwards I only had 1 more mile to go. I started running(9 minute mile at fastest) and planned to run the entire mile without stopping. About half a mile out, I saw Matt who was waiting to run in with me. Together we shuffled into the finish, where I handed my bib to Travis and immediately laid down. My time for the 31 miles was 5:06:45 which was a 9:54 pace. I don't know how I even managed to get under 10 minutes, I don't even want to know how slow the last 10 miles were.
Myself looking awfully ridiculous at the finish of my run
But now our team was at 9 hours, 42 minutes and Travis was out there running. He took off, making me very nervous, but in all honesty I was just happy to be sitting down.
We saw Travis next at mile 70(7.5 miles for him). He was looking good and seemed to be having a blast. He was caught in a little rain and came in a little wet, but that just added to his excitement. However, a larger storm was starting to come in and it was looking pretty rough. We heard from one of the guys that dropped that he could have sworn he heard the tornadoes, which were only miles from portions of the course. I saw Joe Kulak come in at 55 miles and he looked pretty beat. Not to mention just about every other runner on the course.
After leaving this station, the weather got worse. It started pouring, the winds picked up and just got real nasty. Travis was out there all by himself for the next 8 miles and he would be running without seeing another human in middle of this incredible storm. We were just hoping that he would make it to Highway 12(mile 77) in one piece(and without getting lost).
We got over to Hwy 12 to find the aid station in pieces. The aid station captain showed us a tent that was destroyed by the storm, the metal had actually been bent by the incredible winds. He also notified us of a couple tornadoes that had passed by, one being very close to where we had stayed the night before.
After chatting with him, we saw Travis come through, still looking strong considering that he had run a hard 15 miles through a very hilly section. He was out just as soon as he got in, and headed to the last 4 miles of his leg, and probably the most difficult on the entire course. The hills from Hwy 12(77) to Rice Lake(81) and back to Hwy 12(86) were what killed me the year before. There are a couple steep hills that really work you.
When we got to Rice Lake, I went onto the course just to do a little post-storm inspection and catch Travis over his last quarter-mile. As soon as I took about 20 steps onto the course, I realized just how much the storm had done. One of the small bridges was submerged and the water level had definitely rose. To add to that, the greenery was overgrown and I had to duck quite a bit to make it very far. After about 15 minutes of thinking I heard a runner coming up, Travis came charging by. A few seconds later, I heard the yelling from our party, marking Travis' entry into Rice Lake. Then I caught Jon, who was charging back towards me onto the trail to run the final leg of the relay. You could tell he was pumped to finally be running(Can't blame him, he had been waiting around all day long!).
We caught up with Travis, who was looking very good all things considered. He was pretty excited about the run and kept mentioning how tough the hills were over the last section. He had almost gotten lost at one point because the storm had done some damage to the course markings. After getting him a shirt, we drove back to catch Jon at Hwy 12(mile 86).
Jon came in looking strong, yet a little winded from the past 4 miles of hills. He was only there momentarily before taking off again into the woods. Soon after coming in, the lead 100 miler, Joel Eckburg(2:33 marathoner and '08 McNaughton 50 Mile winner) came in. He was definitely tired, but when I saw him heading out to Rice Lake, he was still moving very well. He was putting together quite an impressive performance and had really done a good job of pacing himself in the heat. We waited around for a while to see who was in 2nd place, but apparently he was way ahead of anybody else.
It was beginning to get dark when we arrived at Bluff(the 4th time that day). There was a lot more coming and going from this point and the aid station was fairly active. I kept thinking how nuts it was, seeing people heading back to the 100K, knowing that 15 miles later they would still be in the exact same spot. Brutal. All of a sudden, we saw Jon cruising towards us. He was running very strong and actually looked better at this point then he did 8 miles prior. I ran alongside him to give him his light.
I have never seen anybody hungrier/thirstier at an aid station before. He ate just about everything he could get his hands on--sandwiches, fruit, m&m's, you name it, he ate it. He even took off with a half gallon of water!
Well, after 15 1/2 hours of running/crewing we made it to the finish line to catch Jon. After standing in the woods and being eaten alive for mosquitoes, we saw a fast moving flashlight(it had been dark for quite some time). We called out Jon's name, but we got no response. As the runner went by us, i mentioned to Matt that the runner looked like Jon. We said his name again, to which we heard a "mghmph". "Jon!" we all cried. We took off after him and crossed the finish line in 15 hours, 48 minutes, and 44 seconds.
It was great to finally finish off our crazy race, but it was even better knowing that we were finally going to get some sleep. We drove to Jon's house in Arlington Heights, put down a few beers, ate about half of the food in the house and crashed. Day over.
Results for the race are available at http://www.kettle100.com/Finisher%20Results%20for%20Website%202008.htm.
Joel Eckburg and Darla Brader won the 100 miler while Christine Crawford and Matt Aro won the 100K(Christine was the overall winner). Congrats to everyone that made it through the brutal conditions, finishing was quite an accomplishment today.
Holy Half
The Holy Half Marathon is a 13.1 mile run (obviously) divided into two loops around the Notre Dame campus. The course is very scenic, circling the entire campus as well as looping around a small lake, which takes you through a forested area. I was very hesitant about running this race on an injured IT band, but a lot of people from ISU wanted to do the run, so I figured that even if I had a poor race, at least the weekend would be enjoyable. The night beforehand, some of us got together at Ashley’s for a pasta dinner, movies, race shopping, and a last-minute attempt at fixing up my car.
I woke up before everyone else the next morning (as I always do before races) and went over to Watterson to pick up my friend Annie, who was coming along to check out the Notre Dame campus and do a little spectating. She went out the night before and since we had to leave around 4:30 am, she had not yet fallen asleep and planned to catch up on her zzz’s in the ever-so-comfortable backseat of my car.
I think that everyone met up around 5 and started the long drive shortly thereafter to South Bend in the dark. We pulled in about an hour before the race start, picked up our packets, stretched out our legs, and did some last minute race prep.
At about 15 minutes till 10, we headed off to the start of the race. Travis, Matt, Jon, and I all lined up at the very front, making sure that we were in contending position. The race was a little behind schedule, giving us plenty of time to talk with some of the other runners. We chatted for a bit and wished each other luck. About 10 minutes after the race was supposed to start, the RD gave us last minute instructions that I’m sure only the very front of the pack could hear. Finally, with a few more indiscernible words, the she made the countdown and the race was on.
A runner in a bright yellow triathlon jersey took off fast to quickly establish a lead over everyone else. Travis and Jon also sprinted off of the line like they were gunning for the top two spots. Matt and I laughed with each other and even yelled at them to slow down. We also started making predictions as to when the guy in the yellow was going to crash(I figured mile 2). For the first mile, Matt and I talked back and forth with one another. We were joking around and passed Jon and Travis about ¾ of a mile into it. They were still looking alright, but Matt and I were running a bit faster. The course markings had to have been off since we passed mile 1 in 5:30-something. I’m not sure if I have ever run a mile that fast in my life.
Matt and I were now leading a pack of about 10 or so runners with about 15 runners in front of us. We were chatting back and forth with the pack and joking around with each other. Soon enough, we stopped getting responses from everybody else running. I’m pretty sure that our casual attitude psyched them out. To be honest, they probably hated us, considering that we were having a good time, joking around, acting like we were just out for a causal jog, while they were already huffing and puffing.
Around the 2 ½ mile mark, we got a chance to see some familiar faces. Annie and Kate were both out there cheering us on, which was quite uplifting. I'm not so sure how much fun it was for Annie, as she really isn't into the whole running thing(she was also running on about ½ hour of sleep), but it was still nice to have her out there.
Matt(left) and myself(right) around mile 3
At 3 miles, we got our splits from another runner at 18:30(6:10/mile). We both felt great and were still laughing and joking around. Here, the trail took a turn off the roads and into the woods, which provided a smooth limestone path for the runners. We slowly separated ourselves from the pack we had started with during a loop around a small lake. We passed a few runners here and there—it was obvious that a few of the original frontrunners had underestimated the length of the race. However, our original plan of winning was also out of the question.
I was worried because a decent amount of the course was on sidewalks. My IT band was getting a little sore and I was not sure if it would hold up the entire distance. At 5 ½ miles, it started to irritate me to the point where I was seriously considering dropping. Everything else felt great, but I could not get my leg to cooperate.
Jon(left) and Travis(right) near mile 3.
I don’t know what happened, but when we finished the first loop of the race, the pain went away. I have no idea why or how, but the pain that had nearly forced me to drop was gone. Without the pain, I was finally able to concentrate on the race, which was turning out to be a duel between Matt and myself. At about 7 ½ miles, Matt told me that he could not run any faster. I really wanted to pass him, but I did not want to push to early and crash over the last few miles.
Near mile 9 ½, I decided to make a break for it. Matt seemed to be struggling and I figured that I could gut out the final 3 miles. I narrowed my eyes and picked up the pace a little, moving a couple steps ahead. Just as I was passing Matt, I also moved ahead of another runner, who we had been chasing for the last couple of miles. Matt and I moved into 7th and 8th place. I was hoping I could maintain the pace until the finish.
Unfortunately, I had made my move a little earlier than I should have, because no more than a mile later, I really started hurting. Matt caught up to me and at a hill not much further down the
road, he powered past me. I lost a lot of energy on the climb and pulled about 25 yards back over the next quarter mile.
Ashley & Drinie havin' a blast around mile 5?
I was doing everything I could to hang on to him, but running was not getting any easier and keeping any sort of tempo required considerable effort. At about mile 11 ½, I pulled it together and managed to get back on pace. Matt was about 75 yards in front of me and I hoped that I might be able to catch him.
I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping that nobody would catch me, but a few glances back revealed no other runners were in sight. I turned around, kept my eye on Matt and started the 12th mile, which heads towards the campus for about a quarter mile and then right back to the 12 mile mark. This was so tough, but I still tried to speed up. I made the turnaround (app. mile 12 1/3) and started running hard to catch Matt. In the meantime, I could see Travis heading towards the turnaround. Just as I was heading towards the final straightaway, Jon came around the corner, about a minute behind Travis.
I had expected to see the finish line when I made the final turn, so I was understandably confused when I saw two runners well ahead of me still running the race. I kept trying to see where the damn thing ended when I finally realized that it was about a half mile past where we had started. This last stretch was brutal; the entire time I saw Matt ahead of me and despite running as hard as I could, I was unable to pick up ground. After the longest half mile of my life, I crossed the line in 7th place in 1:20:52. Doubled over, I went straight to soft grass to lie out and catch my breath.
Shortly afterwards, I heard Matt hollering for Travis, who was pulling in, finishing 11th in 1:23:01. Jon came in shortly afterwards, in 1:24:37, warning Travis that the next time, the race was his. Nothing like a little friendly competition. The rest of ISU pack finished in the following times:
Ashley - 1:45:45
Steph - 1:49:28.
Pajor - 1:55:48
Sylvia - 2:27:50.
Unfortunately, I really needed to use the bathroom and did not get a chance to catch these finishes. However, I was very happy with how things went and my 6:11 pace provided the confidence I needed to get me through the training for Chicago. Plus, I got a sweet pair of Crocs for my 7th place finish.
Picking up my sweet ND crocs @ the finish. At this point, I was quite relieved(more ways than one) to be finished.
** By the way, the guy we thought was going to drop early ended up winning the race in 1:11:14. He sure showed us.
Race results are available at http://www.nd.edu/~class08/holyhalf/Holy%20Half%20Results%202008.pdf
I woke up before everyone else the next morning (as I always do before races) and went over to Watterson to pick up my friend Annie, who was coming along to check out the Notre Dame campus and do a little spectating. She went out the night before and since we had to leave around 4:30 am, she had not yet fallen asleep and planned to catch up on her zzz’s in the ever-so-comfortable backseat of my car.
I think that everyone met up around 5 and started the long drive shortly thereafter to South Bend in the dark. We pulled in about an hour before the race start, picked up our packets, stretched out our legs, and did some last minute race prep.
At about 15 minutes till 10, we headed off to the start of the race. Travis, Matt, Jon, and I all lined up at the very front, making sure that we were in contending position. The race was a little behind schedule, giving us plenty of time to talk with some of the other runners. We chatted for a bit and wished each other luck. About 10 minutes after the race was supposed to start, the RD gave us last minute instructions that I’m sure only the very front of the pack could hear. Finally, with a few more indiscernible words, the she made the countdown and the race was on.
A runner in a bright yellow triathlon jersey took off fast to quickly establish a lead over everyone else. Travis and Jon also sprinted off of the line like they were gunning for the top two spots. Matt and I laughed with each other and even yelled at them to slow down. We also started making predictions as to when the guy in the yellow was going to crash(I figured mile 2). For the first mile, Matt and I talked back and forth with one another. We were joking around and passed Jon and Travis about ¾ of a mile into it. They were still looking alright, but Matt and I were running a bit faster. The course markings had to have been off since we passed mile 1 in 5:30-something. I’m not sure if I have ever run a mile that fast in my life.
Matt and I were now leading a pack of about 10 or so runners with about 15 runners in front of us. We were chatting back and forth with the pack and joking around with each other. Soon enough, we stopped getting responses from everybody else running. I’m pretty sure that our casual attitude psyched them out. To be honest, they probably hated us, considering that we were having a good time, joking around, acting like we were just out for a causal jog, while they were already huffing and puffing.
Around the 2 ½ mile mark, we got a chance to see some familiar faces. Annie and Kate were both out there cheering us on, which was quite uplifting. I'm not so sure how much fun it was for Annie, as she really isn't into the whole running thing(she was also running on about ½ hour of sleep), but it was still nice to have her out there.Matt(left) and myself(right) around mile 3
At 3 miles, we got our splits from another runner at 18:30(6:10/mile). We both felt great and were still laughing and joking around. Here, the trail took a turn off the roads and into the woods, which provided a smooth limestone path for the runners. We slowly separated ourselves from the pack we had started with during a loop around a small lake. We passed a few runners here and there—it was obvious that a few of the original frontrunners had underestimated the length of the race. However, our original plan of winning was also out of the question.
I was worried because a decent amount of the course was on sidewalks. My IT band was getting a little sore and I was not sure if it would hold up the entire distance. At 5 ½ miles, it started to irritate me to the point where I was seriously considering dropping. Everything else felt great, but I could not get my leg to cooperate.
Jon(left) and Travis(right) near mile 3.
I don’t know what happened, but when we finished the first loop of the race, the pain went away. I have no idea why or how, but the pain that had nearly forced me to drop was gone. Without the pain, I was finally able to concentrate on the race, which was turning out to be a duel between Matt and myself. At about 7 ½ miles, Matt told me that he could not run any faster. I really wanted to pass him, but I did not want to push to early and crash over the last few miles.
Near mile 9 ½, I decided to make a break for it. Matt seemed to be struggling and I figured that I could gut out the final 3 miles. I narrowed my eyes and picked up the pace a little, moving a couple steps ahead. Just as I was passing Matt, I also moved ahead of another runner, who we had been chasing for the last couple of miles. Matt and I moved into 7th and 8th place. I was hoping I could maintain the pace until the finish.
Unfortunately, I had made my move a little earlier than I should have, because no more than a mile later, I really started hurting. Matt caught up to me and at a hill not much further down the
road, he powered past me. I lost a lot of energy on the climb and pulled about 25 yards back over the next quarter mile.Ashley & Drinie havin' a blast around mile 5?
I was doing everything I could to hang on to him, but running was not getting any easier and keeping any sort of tempo required considerable effort. At about mile 11 ½, I pulled it together and managed to get back on pace. Matt was about 75 yards in front of me and I hoped that I might be able to catch him.
I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping that nobody would catch me, but a few glances back revealed no other runners were in sight. I turned around, kept my eye on Matt and started the 12th mile, which heads towards the campus for about a quarter mile and then right back to the 12 mile mark. This was so tough, but I still tried to speed up. I made the turnaround (app. mile 12 1/3) and started running hard to catch Matt. In the meantime, I could see Travis heading towards the turnaround. Just as I was heading towards the final straightaway, Jon came around the corner, about a minute behind Travis.
I had expected to see the finish line when I made the final turn, so I was understandably confused when I saw two runners well ahead of me still running the race. I kept trying to see where the damn thing ended when I finally realized that it was about a half mile past where we had started. This last stretch was brutal; the entire time I saw Matt ahead of me and despite running as hard as I could, I was unable to pick up ground. After the longest half mile of my life, I crossed the line in 7th place in 1:20:52. Doubled over, I went straight to soft grass to lie out and catch my breath.
Shortly afterwards, I heard Matt hollering for Travis, who was pulling in, finishing 11th in 1:23:01. Jon came in shortly afterwards, in 1:24:37, warning Travis that the next time, the race was his. Nothing like a little friendly competition. The rest of ISU pack finished in the following times:
Ashley - 1:45:45
Steph - 1:49:28.
Pajor - 1:55:48
Sylvia - 2:27:50.
Unfortunately, I really needed to use the bathroom and did not get a chance to catch these finishes. However, I was very happy with how things went and my 6:11 pace provided the confidence I needed to get me through the training for Chicago. Plus, I got a sweet pair of Crocs for my 7th place finish.Picking up my sweet ND crocs @ the finish. At this point, I was quite relieved(more ways than one) to be finished.
** By the way, the guy we thought was going to drop early ended up winning the race in 1:11:14. He sure showed us.
Race results are available at http://www.nd.edu/~class08/holyhalf/Holy%20Half%20Results%202008.pdf
Monday, February 18, 2008
2007 in review
Right now I'm at the library doing some serious reminiscing. Here's a little recap of '07 . . .
Best Race: McNaughton Park 50 Miler
Tie between Tecumseh and McNaughton, but I'm going to give it to McNaughton since I have another section for Tecumseh. I trained my ass off for McNaughton, putting in a couple 30-35 mile training runs and some back-to-back 20 milers. I really pushed my training harder than the year before. The race went great. I felt very strong throughout the first 30 miles and was able to stay strong for an 8:50 finish. The course was muddy as hell, making the downhills dangerous and the uphills miserable. I was in second the entire way after the first 10 mile loop and hung on to finish 17 minutes(I think) behind winner, Jared Milam and 50 minutes ahead of third place. It was incredible to run in such a good position for the entire race.
Biggest Surprise: Tecumseh Trail
At Tecumseh, everything went well. I started off hard and just kept moving. I knew the race was competitive and expected to finish around 3:40 and about in 20th place. As the race went on, I kept passing people and eventually moved up to 6th place and finished in 3:21. I never even thought I could have done that well so everytime they announced my position, a rush was sent through me. I also felt so strong throughout the entire race. It felt like I ran faster as the race went on. Awesome, absolutely awesome.
Best Experience: Kettle Moraine 100
Whew! That race was an absolute blast. I have such good memories of the race, UI could write pages and pages about it. The course was incredible and it was really something to run a full day. I had some incredible highs—I felt great over the first marathon portion and really got something in me from mile 65 – 81. And the lows—crossing the marsh and the hills in the heat of the day(miles 40-55) and crashing hardcore over the last 15 miles were pretty brutal. It was a full emotional experience and although I fell short of my goal, I crossed the finish line quite happy. Of course, as soon as my head touched the seat of our van, I fell deep asleep.
Best Worse Race: Ice Age Trail 50
I am still not quite sure what I thought I was doing, but I really put together a bad strategy for this race. First off, I ran McNaughton 50 4 weeks prior to this run. That, in itself was not bad, but I never gave myself time for adequate recovery. 2 weeks after the run, I ran a 15 miler, followed by a 10 miler the next day. I was pretty beat from the 15-miler and the 10 miler gave me hell. I did not fully recover from those runs, as my legs were still sore going into the race.
Also, the week before the race was finals week @ ISU and I had to make sure that I had fun with everyone before we all left for break. I got pretty wasted the Friday and Saturday one week before the race and felt the effects pretty strong. I had this one huge project that I stressed out about up until Thursday night before the race, working on it until 10 pm. I finished it and got a good grade on it, but screwed up my sleep schedule considerably and often did not go to bed until 4 in the morning. On top of that, once the project was over (Thurs b4 the race), I went out, got really wasted, and did not get back until 3 in the morning. I had to wake up four hours later to catch a train into the city, from where I would take a train into Arlington Heights, where Michael Davenport would pick me up and drive me to the race. Needless to say, by the time that I arrived at the race, I was exhausted.
The morning of, I felt exhausted (another 4 hours of sleep the night before), and it seriously took me 20 miles to warm up. My legs were so stiff and sore (lack of sleep is my best guess)! I felt good from miles 20-30 or 35, and then started to feel the effects of the distance once I reached this point. Nevertheless, I finished in 8:18—a Ice Age Trail 50 PR. Not bad considering I had the race of my life the year before and finished 9 minutes slower.
Biggest Disappointment: IM Wisconsin
OK, so I only really had 2 ½ months to prepare for this race. More like 2 since I needed a little bit of time to recover from Kettle. Still, I trained hard for this race. I really pushed myself on the bike and got a few solid runs in to help the cause. Swimming was a little slow, but I felt that I was really working hard in this area.
The swim was pretty miserable, but turned out alright as I came up a minute ahead of my goal time. The bike was an absolute blast. I finished in 6 hours, 29 minutes, and 30 seconds—30 seconds ahead of my goal time!! That’s .1% off my goal time. Doesn’t get much closer than that.
The run was where things got ugly. I had never been in better running shape, but I didn’t hydrate properly on the bike and this really came back to bite me. I expected to feel great on the run so when I started out feeling bad, I knew something was wrong. Ending up in an ambulance 11 miles into the run capped the whole race off. My first DNF made this run my biggest disappointment.
2007 Races
McNaughton Park 50 Miler 8:49
RSO 5K 17:59—1st place!
Ice Age Trail 50 Miler 8:18
Kettle Moraine 100 Miler 23:19
Racine Half Ironman 5:25
Ironman Wisconsin: DNF
Farmdale Trail 33 miler: 4:59
Naperville Turkey Trot: 17:49
Tecumseh Trail Marathon: 3:21
Best Race: McNaughton Park 50 Miler
Tie between Tecumseh and McNaughton, but I'm going to give it to McNaughton since I have another section for Tecumseh. I trained my ass off for McNaughton, putting in a couple 30-35 mile training runs and some back-to-back 20 milers. I really pushed my training harder than the year before. The race went great. I felt very strong throughout the first 30 miles and was able to stay strong for an 8:50 finish. The course was muddy as hell, making the downhills dangerous and the uphills miserable. I was in second the entire way after the first 10 mile loop and hung on to finish 17 minutes(I think) behind winner, Jared Milam and 50 minutes ahead of third place. It was incredible to run in such a good position for the entire race.
Biggest Surprise: Tecumseh Trail
At Tecumseh, everything went well. I started off hard and just kept moving. I knew the race was competitive and expected to finish around 3:40 and about in 20th place. As the race went on, I kept passing people and eventually moved up to 6th place and finished in 3:21. I never even thought I could have done that well so everytime they announced my position, a rush was sent through me. I also felt so strong throughout the entire race. It felt like I ran faster as the race went on. Awesome, absolutely awesome.
Best Experience: Kettle Moraine 100
Whew! That race was an absolute blast. I have such good memories of the race, UI could write pages and pages about it. The course was incredible and it was really something to run a full day. I had some incredible highs—I felt great over the first marathon portion and really got something in me from mile 65 – 81. And the lows—crossing the marsh and the hills in the heat of the day(miles 40-55) and crashing hardcore over the last 15 miles were pretty brutal. It was a full emotional experience and although I fell short of my goal, I crossed the finish line quite happy. Of course, as soon as my head touched the seat of our van, I fell deep asleep.
Best Worse Race: Ice Age Trail 50
I am still not quite sure what I thought I was doing, but I really put together a bad strategy for this race. First off, I ran McNaughton 50 4 weeks prior to this run. That, in itself was not bad, but I never gave myself time for adequate recovery. 2 weeks after the run, I ran a 15 miler, followed by a 10 miler the next day. I was pretty beat from the 15-miler and the 10 miler gave me hell. I did not fully recover from those runs, as my legs were still sore going into the race.
Also, the week before the race was finals week @ ISU and I had to make sure that I had fun with everyone before we all left for break. I got pretty wasted the Friday and Saturday one week before the race and felt the effects pretty strong. I had this one huge project that I stressed out about up until Thursday night before the race, working on it until 10 pm. I finished it and got a good grade on it, but screwed up my sleep schedule considerably and often did not go to bed until 4 in the morning. On top of that, once the project was over (Thurs b4 the race), I went out, got really wasted, and did not get back until 3 in the morning. I had to wake up four hours later to catch a train into the city, from where I would take a train into Arlington Heights, where Michael Davenport would pick me up and drive me to the race. Needless to say, by the time that I arrived at the race, I was exhausted.
The morning of, I felt exhausted (another 4 hours of sleep the night before), and it seriously took me 20 miles to warm up. My legs were so stiff and sore (lack of sleep is my best guess)! I felt good from miles 20-30 or 35, and then started to feel the effects of the distance once I reached this point. Nevertheless, I finished in 8:18—a Ice Age Trail 50 PR. Not bad considering I had the race of my life the year before and finished 9 minutes slower.
Biggest Disappointment: IM Wisconsin
OK, so I only really had 2 ½ months to prepare for this race. More like 2 since I needed a little bit of time to recover from Kettle. Still, I trained hard for this race. I really pushed myself on the bike and got a few solid runs in to help the cause. Swimming was a little slow, but I felt that I was really working hard in this area.
The swim was pretty miserable, but turned out alright as I came up a minute ahead of my goal time. The bike was an absolute blast. I finished in 6 hours, 29 minutes, and 30 seconds—30 seconds ahead of my goal time!! That’s .1% off my goal time. Doesn’t get much closer than that.
The run was where things got ugly. I had never been in better running shape, but I didn’t hydrate properly on the bike and this really came back to bite me. I expected to feel great on the run so when I started out feeling bad, I knew something was wrong. Ending up in an ambulance 11 miles into the run capped the whole race off. My first DNF made this run my biggest disappointment.
2007 Races
McNaughton Park 50 Miler 8:49
RSO 5K 17:59—1st place!
Ice Age Trail 50 Miler 8:18
Kettle Moraine 100 Miler 23:19
Racine Half Ironman 5:25
Ironman Wisconsin: DNF
Farmdale Trail 33 miler: 4:59
Naperville Turkey Trot: 17:49
Tecumseh Trail Marathon: 3:21
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