Chicago Lakefront 50K Race Report

31 miles, 4:52

I arrived in Chicago early Saturday morning and caught a few z's in my car waiting for everyone to show up. About 30 minutes before the race was scheduled to start I went up to the tent to pick up my bib. It turns out I was at the starting line for a local 5k that was going on at the same time, uh oh! I had less than half an hour to find out where the 50k was starting an pick up my packet. Luckily the start was only about a half mile away so I made it in plenty of time. I have been battling some nagging injuries this week and up until the start I was undecided as to whether I would run the race. About 5 minutes before the start I took a jog around the parking lot, foot pain was gone, pain on the outside of my lower leg was gone, pain on the inside of my lower leg was still there but not to bad, so I decided to go for it. The race consisted of a 10.3 mile out and back repeated three times along lake Michigan. the course was mostly crushed gravel on the bike path in Lincoln Park. It was very flat. I had never run a paved 50k before so I was anticipating a PR, which is what I got. Beating my old pr by more than an hour. The first out and back was pretty uneventful and smooth. I finished in a time of 1:35. The second time around the course my legs began to tighten. I haven't done much road work lately and I was pushing the pace so the tightness was to be expected. I finished the second lap in 3:08 for a lap time of 1:33. The third lap the legs began to tighten a little more but I could smell the finish and continued to push on. I had to stop at a port-a-potty at the final turn around which really hurt my third lap time (about 5 minutes.) I was able to cross the finish line in 4:52 for a third lap time of 1:44. I was happy with my splits as they were pretty consistent. Going into the race I thought I could hold a 10 minute mile pace and wasn't really sure how much faster than that I could go. my pace ended up being 9:25 per mile which I am happy with considering that is faster than the pace in my marathon PR. I hope to be under 9:00 pace for the marathon in the near future.

Kim is running through the night right now at Umstead!! I am sure she is doing awsome! Go Kim!

Another rest day. 9 miles on the bike at the gym. I don't know if I will be able to race this weekend. I am just going to show up and see what happens. It wont be that big of a deal if I can't, its just a training run.

I am going to take the rest of the week off from running and hope my little injuries heal for the 50k this weekend. After this weekend I am going that start increasing my mileage in a more conservative pattern. I will start at 65 MPW and go up 10% a week until I reach 90. Then I will stay there for about a month and then taper for Mo. I think the injuries I have been getting are due to increasing mileage in a sporadic fashion.

Today I went to the gym and biked 10 miles. and used the elliptical machine for about 10 minutes. I hate gym equipment. There is something about doing a lot of work but staying in the same spot that I don't like.

no running today. I have this pain on the bottom of my foot. I am thinking (hoping) it is just a bruise and will heal enough to be able to run in a day or so. I wanted to get another 80+ miles this week but that isn't going to happen now. I hope to set a PR at the Chicago Lakefront 50K this weekend. It is supposed to be a very flat course.

1 mile, 15 minutes

I went to the gym after my night class today. My legs were definitely feeling my fun filled weekend. My thinking is that the advantages of pushing through both races this weekend will far outweigh what little extra recovery time my body will require. I could only manage a half mile run followed by a half mile walk. After that I biked easy for 7 miles and 20 minutes. It was nice to see the guy right beside me riding with the same Resistance level at a slower RPM with a HR about 45 BPM higher than mine...the many advantages of an endurance athlete.

Man imposes his own limitations, don't set any

-Anthony Bailey

Ohio River Road Runners Club Marathon Race Report

4:10

Before I went to bed Saturday night I gave my body a once over and thought about what I should expect when I wake up Sunday morning for the marathon. My ankle right ankle was swollen. It swells up after every race and usually goes down after the first night so I wasn’t to concerned. The bottoms of my feet hurt like hell from running on rocks all day and I was feeling a little sore. Other than that I was good to go for the morning. I woke up and the swelling in my ankle had gone down as expected, but I was still sore and the bottoms of my feet still hurt. I made the 45 min drive to the race (much better than the 7 hours of the day before) and made my way to the packet pickup where I was informed that part of the course was underwater so there were changes made and the race was delayed 1 hours. I was happy because I could really use the extra hour to get ready and it’s not like I had even glanced at the course map, so I had no idea where I was going in the first place. I caught a few extra z’s in my car then got up and started to stretch out. I didn’t have any sorness that would prohibit my stride but I had a fierce pain in my left arch. I went on top of a grassy hill and began to trout for the first time since yesterdays race. It was a painful process, and with 30 minutes to the race start I was beginning to wonder what the hell I was thinking signing up for to races on back to back days. By the time the gun sounded I had no idea whether I would even be able to run at all, but as others started off I followed suite. It actually felt really good…….for the first 100 yards then my legs started screaming at me, they weren’t sore, just tired. This went on for the first 3 miles and I began formulating a run walk strategy that would get me across the finish line sometime before sundown. I decided I would run the first 6 miles and go from there. So I told my legs to shut up and keep moving. They did so, but weren’t happy about it. We are currently not on speaking terms. When the turnaround point came I was feeling a lot better and decided to keep running. I made my way passed fellow runners who had passed me on the way out. This course was a 13.1 mile out and back course which was repeated 2 times (Although with the course change apparently the course came up short, the RD is going to calculate the exact distance this week and post it on the website). The course was mostly on bike paths with some road and sidewalk. I came to the halfway point on pace to break 4 hours which was surprising because my PR is 4:18 (although I haven’t tapered for a marathon since my first one last may) and I was feeling less than great. By the time a reached the last turnaround point at mile 20 my legs were really feeling yesterdays hilly 50k and I just couldn’t keep running. I walked for about ¾ of a mile, and again contemplated a run walk strategy. While walking, every muscle in my leg began to cramp and starting to run again was a difficult process, but once I did I felt somewhat refreshed and decided I could finish out the race in a strong fashion. I ran the final 5 miles in a sub 9 min pace, passing all of the runners that passed me during my walk, and a few more. I came across the finish line in 4:10 which is a new PR (although I am not going to count it as a PR because I probably only ran about 25 miles.) Not bad for a tired, cranky set of legs.

These back to back runs were a VERY difficult but rewarding experience. I am glad that I was still able to run strong after such a difficult race on Saturday. After the race I met up with a guy I had finished with in my first 50k last year, he is and RD for some other runs put on by ORRRC. We were talking about or running and I told him how I did these back to back runs as training for Mohican. It turns out that he was the pacer at Mo last year for Linda Barhorst (course record holder at Stone Steps 50K in Mt. Airy Forest.) He said that if he didn’t have anything planned for that weekend and I needed a pacer (which I REALY do) He would pace me. He is a veteran ultrarunner and would be a HUGE asset to get me through the night. I will E-mail him a little later to see if you will be able to do it.

Weekly Milage: 89 Miles

Bel Monte 50k Race Report

31.4 miles, 6:28

My legs tell me this is a pretty accurate course profile

I left for Virginia right from the office at 7PM on Friday night. With a dinner stop at Fazzoli’s and a 2 hour nap break at a rest stop I arrived at Sherando Lake Recreation Area (Just a few miles from Shenandoah National Forest) around 5AM. The park didn’t open until 6 so I slept for another 1.5 hours then made my way to the race check in, just down the road. The Race started on top of an earth dam, where we all gathered at 6:45 for a humorus speech by the RD about the course directions (apparently we were a much brighter group of runners than in years past.) At 7AM the race started with a “Ready…Go!” and just like that were began our journey. The first 7 Miles were a brutal climb to the top of a peak. The climb started about a ¼ mile into the run which means big traffic jam. Know you would think this is something a trail runner would be used to, but not the woman running behind me. Spent the first 2 miles of the race (until a sped up to get away from her ranting) complaining about how “I have never seen anything like this!” and “This isn’t good people, we need to get it moving!” I was pretty amused by it, but the guy in front of me wasn’t, and flashed her frequent dirty looks, which amused me even more. The climb went pretty smooth and at the top was the second aid station. I refilled my bottle and eat a lot, as the next aid station was at the bottom of the mountain around 6 miles and 1500 feet below. I made up a lot of time on the down hill (my strongest area) but the rocky terrain of the course was really getting to me. I had never run in the Blue Ridge Mountains before and didn’t know what to expect. What I got was by far the rockiest (Word??) and most technical trails I have ever seen. There were several straight-aways that weren’t even runable with huge boulders making up the trail. I made it to the bottom and to the aid station at mile 13 in 2:50 which was a pretty good clip considering the crazy climb. The next section was 3.5 miles on a paved road. I was able to get into a nice grove here and covered the road in a pace just under 10 min miles. The next aid station was at mile 16. This is where the next climb begins and there wouldn’t be another aid station for 7 miles. I was feeling pretty good at this point and kept motoring along. Miles 16-22 were a very mellow climb (at least compared to the rest of the course) then at mile 22 we started a climb that would take us to the same elevation as the first 7 miles, excepted this time it was compacted into a single mile. It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was actually glad when it came up because I was tired of running through all of those rocks! I made it to the top of the hill and the fourth aid station still feeling really good. From here in it was “All down hill” which was true for the most part. I was excited to get back to the down hill section and make up more time because I was already on a really good pace, but the next 5 miles were the most frustrating 5 miles I have ever run. The down hills came and I was ready to cut loose, but the rocks just wouldn’t go away. I had to be very cautious, as one wrong move could wreck my ankle, and I still had a marathon to run the next day. I did the best I could skipping across the rocks and eventually reached the bottom, and the final aid station. Most of the remaining 2.7 miles were on the roads, which always seemed to bit me when I am doing ultras. I maintained a steady pace and finished feeling strong in a time of 6:28. They haven’t posted the results yet, but I am pretty sure a finished somewhere in the top half. I was very pleased with this time. With 6300 feet of climbing this one of the hardest 50k’s I have done (Second only to LLTH). It was also one of the most beautiful courses. The climbs were rough but the views of the streams along the way and the far reaching views from the peaks were stunning. I was very happy to beat my time from LLTH. As I was sitting around munching on some food in the picnic shelter after the race I looked to my left and saw David Horton! He lives in the area and was helping with the race. I was too much in awe to introduce my self, so instead I watched him from a distance and eavesdropped on his conversations. Some one said to him “Hey David, did you run the race today?” To which he replied “No, I heard it was going to be hard so I didn’t do it.” Pretty humorous coming from a guy who has won the Hardrock hundred miler along with numerous other ultrarunning accomplishments. After about an hour I packed up at 3PM and started the drive home, the LONG drive home. I stopped once to sleep for 1.5 hours and stopped a few times for gas and snacks, trying to refuel my body so I would be able to run the marathon on Sunday. I made it back a little past midnight and hit the sack. One down one to go.