Psycho Psummer 50K 2013

Four of us made the trip from Iowa down to the Kansas City area to participate in the Psycho Psummer 50K in Wyandotte Lake County Park. This race was part of the trail race series put on by the local running group the TrailNerds. We left Friday afternoon made the 5 hour drive to packet pickup and settled into our hotel room to get some rest. Brian was running his first ultra and he was nervous to say the least. Ross and myself had a good time teasing him.

Bright and early we woke up and made our way to the start line. We had to grab a shuttle acrossed the street from the hotel but it was fairly painless. We arrived about an hour early and I spent the time doing what I do and taking pictures on my phone.

 The 50K race consisted of three loops around the lake. There was also a 10 mile and 20 mile option. We had been warned that the course was hilly and challenging but more on that later. Brian, Ross and myself were doing the 50K, Casey was doing the 20 mile and Ross's Mom was doing the 10 mile. It promised to be a great day. Eventually the RD grabbed the megaphone and we all lined up for the start. Short announcements were given and then we were off. We started off running acrossed some grass for about 500 yards until we hit the first small hill and turned left into the woods. 90% of the course was on horse trails,singletrack and mountain bike trails. There was only about quarter mile of pavement we had to use to cross the dam at the 6 mile point. Brian, Casey and I ran together until the first hill and then we all settled into our own pace. The traditional ultra conga line formed for the first few miles and I would run behind people for most of the first 10 miles. I don't really like that as I can't see what is coming up so without being rude I tried to pass people so at least I was in front of the pain train.

Aid stations where plentiful both manned and unmanned. Actually I made myself skip some so as not to waste too much time. I resolved to only stop at the manned aid stations and then not even all of those. I subsisted most of the day on ice water, oranges and watermelon.Although I was carrying them I didn't ingest 1 GU all day, which was a win for me. I ran the first loop not knowing what to expect. Mentally I ended up dividing the course up into 3 sections. Overall it was constantly rolling and hills but some hills were steeper and rockier than others. The first 1/3 was fairly non technical single track with shade, and the occasionally rocky hill. The second 1/3 was a constant up and down of rolling and twisty single track that I thought of as the "mountain bike" section because while it wasn't very rooty or rocky it was slanted and conformed to the sides of the ridge lines. You always felt like you were running trying to keep from falling down the hill.The last 1/3 was the killer. Steep, rocky hill after steep, rocky hill. Your heart was in your chest even walking these bad boys. All of  this was interspersed with a few open meadows and that short road section as you crossed the dam.

So the first lap went fairly well and I finished it in 2:05. During the second lap it started getting hot and it would remain that way. The second lap seemed to go by fast, however it actually took me 20 minutes longer. The hills and heat were starting to affect my performance. About a mile before finishing my second lap the race leader flew by me with a " strong work" comment. I was like, "thank you small fast female person." She couldn't have weighed more than 100 pounds and she looked to be about 12 years old. I later found out she was 26 and an US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. No matter how you slice it she was fast.

The third lap was the worst as could be expected. It was hot and it seemed like I was crawling. Hills I had ran up on the first lap I was now walking with hands on hips. I was still moving forward fairly strong but it was tough. At each of the last three hills I kept telling myself that this hill had to be the last one. Eventually I came out on the meadow prior to the finish and knew I only had about 100 meters to go. Down a rocky section and I crossed the finish line in 7:22:28. This was about 2 hours slower than my 50K PR but was consistent with the times I had seen for this course. There was some confusion with my time because my chip had malfunctioned but I got that straightened out eventually. Ross had finished in 5th place and both Casey and Ross's Mom had finished their races. Brian finished about 30 minutes behind me and became a first time ultra marathoner. All in all a good race and it was a good time. Definitely a challenge

Hawkeye 50K 2013:50K Are Ultras Too

So this was the third running of the Hawkeye 50K. This race is on my list of favorite races because it was my first ever ultra marathon, it is really close to my house, and I personally know the race director Tim Smith. I have ran all three iterations and the weather has been different for every running. This year it decided to be 7-20 degrees and snowy as opposed to last year when it was up in the 80 degree range.

I woke up the morning of the race and made my way to the start in the Coralville lake area about 20 miles south of where I live. As in past years the 50K course was two 15.5 mile loops of road/trail around the lake. The 25K race was one loop of the same course. I arrived and made my way to the small lodge where the runners where congregating. I chit chatted with a group of friends most of whom were doing the 25K but one friend Lacey was going to attempt her first 50K. We talked about race strategy a bit and I mentioned that a sub 6 hour time was my goal. Our friend Ross told her that if she could see my red Team Red White and Blue shirt she would be in good shape.

So at the appointed time we all lined up behind the large snowbank about 20 feet in front of the starting line.

 

With a Ready, Set, Go we were off, in a display of jubilation I hurdled the snowbank rather than go around it. Eventually though we all funneled into the single track trail for the first mile or so we would be running in the woods. I was getting my running legs together and just easily followed the pack through the woods until we were dumped out on the service road that led us to the highway we would run along for about 4 miles. As in past years this first third of the course was fastest as everyone had fresh legs and subconsciously I think the 25K runners pushed the 50K runners somewhat. I tried to keep it easy as I listened to Planet Money on my iphone. About the 4 mile mark of the race we turned left into the town of Solon and hit the first aid station. I was feeling so good at this point I just grabbed a handful of M and M's and kept running.

As I turned back into recreation area on the gravel pack that ran along side the reservoir Lacey came from behind me. We decided to run together for awhile and we chatted and ran the next 9 miles until we hit the dreaded spillway crossing. I think it was in this section where unbeknownst to me my race started to fall apart a little bit. I was having so much fun talking and running that I forgot to stay up on my hydration and nutrition plan.

Once crossing the spillway, which despite my fears, I managed to do without getting my feet wet this year. We started the hardest part of the course. I had lost contact with Lacey during the spillway crossing so I just headed up the hill. The next 5-6 miles of the course were snowy,steep, muddy, and an all around ball buster. It was almost impossible to run uphill as the cross country skiers had chopped the snow up on the trails making it slippery and mushy. I found that if I powerwalked or took really short choppy steps I was able to get up the hills fairly efficiently. This section took a lot out of me and although I finished the first lap in 2:41, I was starting to feel nauseous.

At the halfway point I refilled my and bottles and took off a layer of clothes as it was starting to get a little warmer. I briefly talked to my friend Ross who had won the 25K in a time of 1:40 and was going to pace Lacey on the second lap. I mentioned that I thought they might catch me and I was going to get started on the next lap. Miles 15-20 reminded me that 50K are ultramarathons too. I had come into the race with somewhat of a complacent attitude. I mean I have complete 50 miles races, I ran 90 miles during my attempt at the 100 mile distance. I had just finished a 50K feeling pretty good on not much training 4 weeks prior, what was there to worry about? The problem was I let myself get behind on nutrition , a cardinal sin of ultrarunning. Ross and Lacey caught me at the first aid station as I was coming out of the woods after I had attempted to vomit. I must not have looked very well because when I told them I was going to run my own race they didn't even argue with me. Soon they were out of sight. For the next few miles I tried to get the nutrition issue under control, I pounded the fluids and continued to eat as many gels and Honey Stinger waffles as I could stomach. It started working and I started feeling better. Now that the temperature had risen somewhat the part of course that was frozen on the first lap was a sloppy mess on the second. But wonder of wonders I started passing people. By the time I got to the second aid station I was feeling pretty good. Another friend of ours Brian was the aid station captain and I asked him how far ahead Ross and Lacey were, he told me 3 minutes. I grabbed a few PBJ and headed out. My thoughts kept going back to the 2010 Western States race when Geoff Roes had been 15 minutes back from the lead and feeling bad, but he had regrouped and eventually won the race. This motivated me and when I got to the spillway it was in my mind to catch them. I felt much better going through the rough section on the second lap. I was on autopilot with one goal. I actually saw Ross, Lacey and a few other of our friends at one of the switchbacks. I yelled to them that I was going catch them. It was not to be however, as Lacey ran a great first 50K finishing in 5:33 and coming in 2nd female. I finished in 5:50:16. I felt pretty good about this race overall however. I learned that you can't underestimate any race. I learned you can bring yourself back from the darkness. Although it wasn't my fastest ever 50K time it was my fastest on that course. I beat my time from the year prior by 20 minutes in much much worse conditions. I call that progress.

1st Annual Running Village 50K

I decided to run this race at the last minute..at least for me. I registered only 2 weeks before the race when I found out about it from my friend JD. I decided it was a much better fit for my 100 mile training schedule than my original plan of running the Des Moines marathon. This turned out to be a good decision. A muddy sloppy trail race has a lot more specificity than a road race.

The race was held on a Saturday morning and I knew things were going to be hectic based on my usual Modus Operandi of trying to fit 10 lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag. So I officiated a highs school football game the friday night prior, got home about midnight and packed for the race and work the next day. There would be no time to come home after the race. I got to sleep about 0100 and set my alarm for 0430, intending to drive the 60 miles to race start and pick up my packet at 0600. The race was to start at 0800. JD was running the 25K and we had I planned on running a little before hand to warm up.

Well as as usual no plan survives first contact and I suddenly awoke at 0600 and leaped out of bed. Crap!!! I might not make packet pickup that ended at 0730. I threw on my clothes, grabbed my stuff and got in the car. To make matters even better it was pouring rain. I stopped at the gas station and fueled , bought 4 gatorades and some donut sticks. I was then on my way chugging the gatorade and eating the donut sticks.Not the preferred pre race breakfast but it is what I had. I called JD on the way and he picked up my packet for me. So when I arrived at the race start all I had to do was get it from him and get dressed in my car as the rain continued to fall.It was so wet I decided not to take my phone. There would be no pictures this race which was a bummer because I saw a lot of cool things.

The race would be two 15.5 miles loops mostly on single track with a few miles of pavement. The race started in front of a pavilion in a park and headed east into a city park and state preserve. I heard there were 90 some runners registered for the 25K/50K but it looked like a lot less at the starting line. I think a lot of people bailed due to the weather. This was the first year of the event so support was really low key but the swag was awesome. It was sponsored by a local ultra runner and running store owner so he knew what runners wanted.

The race began with literally a READY,SET,GO!!! I hit my watch and off we went.We ran down a paved bike path for about .5 miles then turned left into the woods and hit the single track mountain bike trails. For the first 3-5 miles we would loop back and forth on these trails, crossing the pavement periodically and heading back into the woods. I was maintaining about a 10 minute per mile pace and just concentrated on staying steady. At one point I was leading my little group of runners when we got to a trail intersection. We had been told to keep the flags on the right but one of the volunteers motioned me to head the other way..so I did. I got about 25 yards down the trail when he hollered for us to turn around. So of course now I was at the tail end of the train of runners and lost about 6 places. I slowly made this up however of the course of the next few miles. I hit the first aid station at about 30 minutes but I ran past it as I was feeling pretty good and had plenty of water and gels in my hydration pack.

The rain had stopped by this time but the course was a wet muddy and sloppy mess. It consisted of twists and turns and a lot of little rolling hills. We also hit the occasional sandy spot or steeper hill.
Here is a course preview



At approximately mile 10 we hit the second aid station. I did stop there and got some fluid and calories. I had been running with the same basic group of people but shortly after this aid station I hooked up with another runner named Tim. We talked as we hit some steeper terrain including a series of railroad tie steps. Tim had run quite a few ultras including a 24 hour race. I ran with him for about 5 miles until we hit the berm and bike trail that would loop us back to the start/finish line.

I finished the first lap in 2:29. I spent 6 minutes changing my socks and drinking another bottle of gatorade and was off on the second lap. As is usual on these races the second lap was different than the first. Although the course was the same it felt different. Even though I ran it slower it felt like it went faster. I was pretty happy at my energy levels as I passed a lot of people that had gotten a head of me earlier. My IT band and hamstrings started to bark at me a little bit which probably slowed my pace some. I was in good spirits though and talked to others along the route. With about 2 miles to go I passed the runner Tim who I had been taking to on the first lap. I finished the race in 5:29:59, 10 minutes of my best ever 50K time but I felt like I could keep going strong. As a training run this was a good effort.