More Ups and More Downs

Another year of ultra racing and another years of ups and down within races and throughout the year.

TBunk Endurance Challenge 50 Mile - November 5 2016

Last November (2016, I am awful at Blogging on time) I ran the 50 mile trail run at TBunk Endurance Challenge in the Kettle Moraine State Forest. I have run a handful of races on these trails and I am very familiar with them. From the start I was in the front of the race and this is probably the most boring race to write about since everything actually went as close to plan as it can in an ultra. There are 5 loops of 9.2 miles and then a last shorter loop of 3.66 miles to round out the 50 miles. With 150 calories of Tailwind each loop my laps were fairly steady.

Lap 1: 1:13:30
Lap 2: 1:12:55
Lap 3: 1:13:46
Lap 4: 1:13:58
Lap 5:  1:16:06
Short Lap 6: 35:46
Total: 6:46:01

This was only the third year of the race and my time was about 35 minutes faster than the prior course record. The short lap was not yet marked when I started it and I took a slight incorrect turn adding about a half mile extra by the time I realized it and backtracked, but everything else in the race went very smooth.

Jackpot Ultra Running Festival 24 Hour - February 18 2017

I wanted to have something to train for in the winter and since we have family in Las Vegas I signed up for a 24 hour run located in the area. The race is held at a park that has a 2.38 mile trail loop that is relatively flat and located about 30 minutes from my sister in law's place.

It can't be an event in Las Vegas without the Showgirls.

Training was interesting. I wanted to do some indoor running so that I was not doing all my training in sub 20 degree temperatures so I did my long runs on our treadmill. While I have historically avoided treadmill running at just about any cost, it was nice to have some time to catch up on sports. My longest run was an 8 hour double marathon treadmill run where using DVR I watched Roger Federer defeat Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams defeat her sister Venus in the Australian Open finals as well as an entire NBA game and a couple other shows.

One change is I started to wear Hoka One One shoes during this training. For anybody who has not tried them, they have a "rocker" shape and motion that makes your foot roll very easy and they also have a very thick sole with maximum cushion. Using these shoes I found that I had much less pain due to plantar fasciitis, but I did get some additional blisters on my toes. I decided to stick with these shoes for this training block and see how they work out.

As the race approached we realized for the second consecutive trip for us to Las Vegas (in November and now February) it was going to be warmer in Madison while we were in Vegas. The temperature for the race was in the low fifties and it rained for a large portion of the race. I don't mind a little rain and the cool temperature, but it rained enough that a part of the course that runs across an overflow channel into the park's reservoir had to be routed on the path over the culvert. This added two hills per lap which would really add up...

It is not supposed to be this wet in Las Vegas

The early laps of the race went smooth despite the rain as I settled in at around 9:00-9:30 pace.Thirty miles into the race the runner that had more impressive prior results than I left the course which left be in the front of the race. By about 50 miles in I was still feeling great and was building a decent lead so I decided today was a good day to go all-in and see what was possible. At the 12 hour mark I had already covered 75 miles. I had not changed shoes yet and the outside of my foot was really starting to hurt so I stopped and tried switching to my Altras. That only lasted a lap (2.5 miles) and I then tried my tried and true Asics. I ran\walked five miles in those and then switched back to a different pair of Hokas that I stayed with the rest of the way.

At this point things really slowed down. My aggressive pace had taken its toll and it was clear it would be a bit more of a struggle from here on out. After a 75 mile first 12 hours I managed 40 miles over the last 12 hours. There was a lot of walking. Kendra did the last 15 miles with me that were mostly walking with occasional jogging. I was really having to push myself to keep moving those last few hours and I was very glad to have Kendra there with me.

It was also great seeing Abbe and my nephew Max out on the course. It is nice doing a race where we can see family as well.

I think I could have ran more miles with a more even effort approach, but I really wanted to see with how well my training went what my limit really was. I still have a lot to learn about the 24 hour races and thought this was a fun race and good experience.

Ice Age Trail 50k - May 13 2017

After taking a couple weeks primarily off I shifted to starting to speed things up a little and start training for the IAT 50k. Training went well I was up to running trail marathons each weekend. I however have a bad habit of jumping down stairs a few at a time and at work on the concrete stairs I caught my foot and turned my ankle... badly. It was one of those with a loud popping sound. It was painful to walk for the next week and when I tried to do a short run one week before the race I made it three painful miles and had to throw in the towel. This race was my 3rd DNS bringing my total to 23 ultra registrations, 20 finishes, and 3 DNS.

Christmas in July 12 Hour - July 15 2017

By late May my ankle was holding up well running on even surfaces and I was able to build my mileage back up. I wanted to look for a summer race that was on even surface and not going to be scorching hot. I found a timed race in the Chicago suburbs called the Christmas in July. They have a 24 hour, 12 hour, 6 hour, and 5k. This race fit my criteria since the races all start on Friday night. Therefore the 12 hour race runs from 11PM to 11AM avoiding the worst heat of a July day.

This is a fun race environment. They have the entire venue decorated for Christmas with lights and inflatables. I got in the spirit and got some lights for my aid table that Kendra helped set up.

The race loop is just under 1 mile with one small hill. I started steady around 8:30 pace and I was able to hold that for the first 60 miles. Then it hit me pretty quickly and my legs started to revolt. I managed to alternate walking and running for the last 2.5 hours. I finished with 76.88 miles which was good enough for 1st place and a course record. I was glad to be done running because it was starting to really heat up.

Hennepin Hundred 50 Mile October 7 2017

Sticking with the theme of running on flat surfaces I decided giving a quick 50 miler a try. I started putting a bit more speed in my workouts and I was running a marathon around 3:15 each weekend. Then on a weekday run at the end of August I was pushing it hard at the end of 10 mile run (around 6:00 pace) and something happened in my left leg. It felt like I strained something in my left hamstring. My next attempt at a run was very painful so I shut it down for a couple of weeks. A couple weeks later it felt OK but I also tried to be very cautious. I managed to get in a couple of semi-long runs so I decided to give the race a try rather than a second DNS this year.

This run is a point to point with the majority of the 50 mile heading south along the Hennepin Canal. Unfortunately, there was a decent wind directly out of the south so we had to fight it most of the race. That combined with my body not really being ready and I started to slow down by mile 18. It was a long slog to drag myself through this race. There was a lot of walking.I finished with a time of 7:56:23 which is a pace of 9:32 per mile. About two minutes slower per mile than my original goal.

What's Next?

After taking some time to recover my training has gone very well in December and January heading into 2018. I am running the 12 hour race at the Jackpot Running Festival this year in Vegas in a next weekend and I feel great going into this race. I think I am in a good position to improve on my 12 hour this last summer and go for 80 miles. In May I am signed up to run another 24 hour race on a 400m track. We will see what I do from there, but I may take it easy on the speed work for a while. Maybe I am just getting too old for that...

I will try to report back with a Jackpot report in a couple weeks, but we will see.