Quick Fiddy

As summer comes to a close I am finally getting back to racing. Last summer I was really fit, raced a lot, and won quite a few small races. This summer by contrast I was pretty wiped out after two early spring marathons and haven't been as motivated to get out training. This has given me the chance to do a bit more adventuring, camping, and spending time with friends and family, which has been nice. My brilliant strategy to allow myself this freedom was to sign up for a 50 mile race in September so I wouldn't be tempted to sign up and train hard for a fall marathon. That race was the Superior 50, the little brother of the epic Sawtooth 100 race on the superior hiking trail. The tag line for the race is Rugged, Relentless, Remote, and it lives up to that.

Leading up to the race I was putting in moderate training weeks with big mileage on the weekend. I had a few weekends with 2-3 runs totally 30+ miles for the weekend. I kept the pace easy, knowing I would need to be efficient at a much slower speed than I'm used to running. I didn't race at all in July and only one little 10 miler in August. I got in a long weekend of hiking on the Pictured Rocks trails in Michigan and tried to spend a lot of time outside. When I first started racing long races like the Chippewa Triathlon I noticed that since I work indoors I was not used to being outside for large chunks of the day especially in the heat of the middle of the day, so I have focused on spending weekends outside as much as possible to not have that additional stress to adapt to on race day. This was a great excuse to get in a couple camping trips and some long bike rides.

The 50 mile race starts in Finland, MN at 5:30 on a Saturday morning. The 100 mile starts at 8:00 AM the day before, so I spent Friday evening cheering on my friends Rob and Eric. Rob ended up dropping out at mile 50, the very same place where I would be starting the next day. I was sad to see him drop, so when I started running the next day part of me felt like I was carrying on the torch for him.

Ready to Race!

The weather at the race start was absolutely spectacular. It was just under 40F, the sky was clear of clouds and awash with stars. Most of us runners stayed inside out of the cold until the race organizer herded us out to the start line. I wish I had a picture or video to match how amazing the race start was. The road ahead lit by the headlamps of all the runners around me, the almost complete darkness of the surrounding forest, and then the brilliant tableau of stars up above. The paved road quickly turned to gravel, and not long after that we dived into the darkness that is the superior national forest.

Runners getting ready to start.

The race climbed steadily for a couple miles, but it was when we turned downhill that I began to run into problems almost right away. Since I figured I would only be running in darkness for an hour at most I only packed a small light, and it was not enough to see the trail well. When I did more trail running and was a younger, more nimble fellow this may not have been a big concern, but my amount of technical trail running has not been that great this summer, so I was kind of in over my head. After passing a runner who suddenly pulled over to the side of the trail I considered that twisting an ankle was a serious concern. Sure enough, not even a quarter mile later I rolled my left ankle pretty good on the edge of a rock.

Course profile for the Superior Fall Races

I backed the pace off after this, because I couldn't really trust my weight on that foot for a while, but I still managed to roll the same ankle a couple more times before making it in to the first aid station 7.5 miles into the race. I made a quick stop to loosen up my shoe laces on my now swelling foot and was back underway. Throughout the day that was one thing I felt like I did very well, I came into aid stations with a plan and I moved through quickly and efficiently.

The sun finally edged above the horizon before the next aid station, and my friend Emily was there to take my headlight and long sleeve shirt. I kept my arm warmers and buff since I still couldn't really use my fingers because of the cold most of the time. I wasn't going to complain about that though, knowing that chilly fingers are far better than the heat of the race a couple years ago the first time Rob ran it. The next stretch was the Crosby-Manitou segment, one of the most beautiful sections, but also one of the most difficult, and the longest stretch of the race between aid stations. Last year I paced my friend Jeff through this section in the middle of the night, and it was far more enjoyable in the daylight I have to say. My energy was good for this section and I felt like I was moving very well.

I kept those good feelings through the next aid station and past the marathon start. One marathon down, one to go (the actual race length is 52.4 miles, so just about exactly 2 full marathons). I was at 5:15 at this point, so a bit off of my goal of sub 10 hours, but I was happy with how things were going. That changed quickly on the long downhill to the Cross River however.

The lead woman caught me on the flat stretch along the Cross River and I picked up my pace to stay with her. Going up and over the next climb I actually put a good gap on her again, but lost all that ground and more on the descent to the Temperance aid station. She was just leaving that aid station when I arrived. It was a lonely slog up to Carleton Peak. I ran almost all the way to the top though, so I was pretty proud of that. Just as I was nearing the peak Emily showed up. It was nice to finally drop off my arm warmers and buff with her and start picking my way downhill to the next aid station. From this point on I had raced all of the rest of the course as part of a 50k a couple years ago, so I had a good idea of what to expect. In some ways that was reassuring, but in other ways it was rather frustrating, since I knew how much more quickly I had covered this section of trail last time I raced here.

The last 15 miles were a slog. I kept running by sheer force of will, but unfortunately not running quickly by this point since my legs were pretty stiff. I got passed by two more women and one more guy in the 50 mile race, moving me back to 14th, the place where I would ultimately finish. I was very happy to finally hit the road near Caribou highlands and be able to push the pace on the more stable surface. My final time was 11:14.

I learned a lot this race, but also did a lot of things right. Food and drink were right on, and I paced things pretty well for much of the race. I was not prepared adequately for the terrain however, and had very little left in the legs for the runnable sections late in the race, so those are some training issues that will need to be addressed before I try another one of these races. I may be back someday, but probably not next year, where I'm already looking at the Inspiration 100 gravel race on this weekend.

Bicycle Voyageur

Last year I went up to cheer for Jeff and Rob at the Voyageur 50 mile race near Duluth. I had a great time running around on the gorgeous trails cheering and watching the race unfold. The aid stations at ultramarathons are their own fun little community with friends, spouses, and children ferrying around watching a race and waiting for their runner to come through before quickly packing up shop and hustling off to the next point. It is many of the same faces throughout the day, although who is at a particular station changes depending on how the runner they are there to support is doing. Since Rob was headed back up to run this race again I though it would be a fun way to get away for the weekend and get a good workout in. It was also a great way to see a 50 mile race in action to give me some ideas of what to expect at my 50 mile debut in a few weeks. (Just a quick note, this race was in late July, I'm not exactly up to date on my blog posting).

Nate decided to accompany Rob and I and do some spectating as well, so on Friday afternoon we loaded up our bikes and headed North. We stopped at Tobie's for supper, the same place I stopped with Jeff and Rob last year, and the hostess seated us at the exact same table as we were at. Rob and I got a good chuckle out of this. Then we finished the trip up to Duluth where we camped at the Indian Point campground. The campground was basically a big open field, and we were a bit worried about all the noisy kids running around, but like magic right around 11:00 everyone quieted down and we had no trouble getting to sleep.

The next morning was cool, but the day promised to get hot, and the humidity was already high. The race is an out and back that starts in the town of Carlton, runs through Jay Cooke state park, works it's way up and over Spirit Mountain, and turns around at the Duluth Zoo. Last year I had no idea where I was going and was lucky enough to run into my friend T-1000 (o.k. her actual name is Kara) who was there crewing for her friend Emily and she had maps and directions for navigating. I hadn't done much spectating for long races before, and while the course is obviously marked for the runners, there are no course markings for spectators or crew. This year I started doing some research a couple weeks before the race so I would know where to go. Then Rob mentioned that the course often runs parallel to the Willard Munger bike trail, and the plan quickly switched from driving to biking. This plan worked amazingly well! It was a great way to get around quickly and to really get to experience the area in a way that driving in a car just doesn't allow. Also since it at times took a bit longer to get from aid station to aid station there was a bit less waiting around.

Rob has a good formula for his races and he follows it well. He races nice and steady and doesn't often seem ruffled by anything. Nate and I cheered him along and gave him updates on how the rest of the race was playing out. We ran a couple short sections with him so we could get a few running miles in ourselves. Sure enough, as the day went on the weather got hot, into the upper 80's and quite muggy for a while. Luckily in the afternoon the humidity started to drop and conditions got a bit more bearable.

Rob hit the turn around in about 4 1/2 hours, looking good for hitting his goal of 10 hours. The way back was much hotter than the way out though, and the heat and mileage took it's toll. He ended up finishing in 10:18, still a pretty respectable time. Rob is running the 100 mile race at Superior, where I am running my 50, so this was a good tuneup day for him. I pushed Nate pretty hard on some of the biking sections of the day, so he was almost as tired as Rob by the end of the day I think.

A big weekend o' fun

I'm going to make a jump back up to the present with the blog now. I have a few posts started from the previous couple weeks and a trip earlier in the summer, but I find I'm better at keeping to a schedule if I just need to blog about what happened in the last week, so I'm just going to fill in those past posts randomly when I have time. So be on the lookout for that, and you know, be careful when someone loves you.

Blue Sky and Radar Love

Last weekend was the Tour De Save bike ride in Northfield. The ride was started as the Tour De Nick several years ago in memory of a Northfield rider who committed suicide, and in the last couple years has partnered with the SAVE foundation to help raise money for their organization. I joined a few other EMVC riders on the 100k gravel route.

TDS Gravel Crew

It was a wonderful morning for riding. It was sunny and calm, not too warm and not too humid. We were going at a pretty leisurely pace, which was good since I haven't put a lot of miles on the bike this year. Bruce Anderson joined us for the first few miles, but he was itching to go faster and couldn't find any companions in our group, so he ventured off alone. Paul also branched off partway through, so there were 5 of us that rode the whole route together.

Grinding out the miles

There was plenty of climbing, so once I had a good feel for my bike fitness I decided to make a run at a couple Strava segments along the way. When I did the gravel championships a couple years ago I didn't get credit for the Shady Lane segment, so I really wanted to take another run at that one in particular. It is a 2 mile segment with a good 19% gravel climb near the end. I managed to throw down a good enough time to tie Galen for 2nd place on the segment, but feel like I could be faster.

Gorgeous roads, fun hills, no cars

By the time we got back almost all the food was gone, but there were still some cookies and we had squirreled away a few beers that were waiting for us. I had one against my own better judgement. This was not my final workout of the day, and I knew that beer wouldn't sit all that well for the run I still had to do.

Workout #1 done

Turns out I was kind of right. By the time I got home, changed, and headed out running it was getting pretty hot and steamy out. My goal was to make 13 miles and get a good collection of hills in as well. I achieved both of those goals, and put my hydration vest through a good test run in the process. The pieces are starting to fall into place for my 50 miler next month, but I still feel like I need to get a couple hilly trail runs in to really feel prepared.

Out for some bonus Radar Love

Sunday morning it was back to Afton to join the SCAR training crew for a 50k rollerski (it was actually only 47k). It is a fun ski, meeting in downtown Afton and following a different route than our normal Sunday morning skis. There are also aid stations set up along the course with M&M's and water, both of which were very welcome since I was working on pretty low glycogen stores from the day before. There were a couple young guys on classic skis that set a good comfortable pace so we finished up in just under 3 hours. Afterwards I was actually feeling pretty decent for having put in a 10hr+ weekend.