Kettle Moraine 100 Mile: Race Report 2011

(You can hear me groan in the beginning as I am trying to sit in the chair)

I have finished my second 100 mile race and it was another tough one. I did feel like I was a lot more prepared for this race than for the Zumbro 100 I still had a tough time. The Kettle Moraine races take place mostly on the Ice Age Trail which is a gorgeous path that runs through Wisconsin. The part that we were on is mostly cross country skiing paths so the overall course has a lot of runable areas. The Kettle Moraine 100 mile and 100K is the second race in the Gnarly Bandit Race Series, which is part of the Upper Midwest Trail Runners.

On a scale of 1-5 the course was about a 2.5 there was not a lot of elevation or climbing but you were constantly going up and down. The trail was a combination of single track and cross country ski trails so there were only a few sections that were really technical.

I was not going to make the same mistake as last time at Zumbro. I pre-taped my toes this time.

I also used the Injinji toe socks to help with blisters

This was my first solo ultra, so I tried to be as prepared as possible knowing that if I didn't bring something with me that I'd just have to go without it. I pulled into Whitewater, Wisconsin around 4:30pm on Friday and checked into my hotel room. I dropped off my stuff and headed down the road about 9 miles to La Grange were the packet pick up and the Start/Finish area are. I grabbed my packet, talked to the race director briefly and then headed back to Whitewater. After having a nice meal at Randy's in Whitewater I organized my drop bags and gear for the next morning and tried to get to bed early, but didn't really work. I eventually fell asleep around 11pm, the race started at 6am and so I set my alarm for 4:35am. I actually woke up at about 4am and just laid there for about 30 minutes. I packed my things and was out the door, I pulled into the Start/Finish area and there was a pretty big crowd. Kettle Moraine offers a 100 mile, 100k, 100mile relay and 38 mile Night Fun Run that starts at 9pm. The race director was giving out instructions and I was still messing around getting things situated. I dropped my drop bags and head towards the start area with about 2 minutes to 6am. Luckily someone was yelling out "Don't forget your timing chips!" I hustled over and grabbed mine and put it on just as the race started. The nice thing about ultras is they are long and if you're a minute or two late it probably won't make much of a difference.

It was a bit weird running with so many people and it took a long time to really get thinned out. The trail was pretty wide because we were on cross country skiing trails but still much too congested for a trail ultra in my mind. The first 20 miles were nice I was purposely trying to stay in the mid to mid back of the pack to ensure that I would not go out too fast and kill myself again. I found a few runners to run with and we chatted quite a bit. I ran with a runner Scott from Illinois for about 10-15 miles. He had run Kettle Moraine several times so it was nice to be able to ask him questions about the trail and race.

I also ran about 10 miles with another runner Paul Schaefer from Rochester who was doing his first 100 mile and was about 50 years old (Paul ended up beating me by about 1hr 20 min) At about 3 hours into the race I started noticing that my shins were starting to ache. I was concerned about this because I had run the Fargo Marathon 2 week before and probably ran it too hard and really hurt both of my shins, it felt like I had shin splints. I started to take some ibuprofen to help manage the pain. One thing I learned from Zumbro was to start on top of pain management, don't wait till something starts hurting. By this time it was starting to get pretty hot, when I check the weather forecast before I left it said sunny and a high of 83. It ended up being in the low 90s for a lot of the day and you could tell that the heat was taking a toll on everyone. I had two 22oz handheld water bottles that I was carrying with me and I was trying to drink as much as I could and was taking a salt tablet, S-Caps every hour. I don't think that dehydration was ever really a big issue for me, thankfully. Though I did see a girl running the 100 mile that did not carry any sort of water bottle or camel pack with her, how she didn't die is amazing. How she ended up beating me by 20 mins is impressive.

Around noon there is a long stretch of trail that cuts across an open prairie which is nice for running but in the heat of the day was not a lot of fun. Thankfully I was feeling pretty good on this section and manage to move my way up a few places. I hit the first turn around at mile 31 around 6:37:54 not too bad of a pace.

On the trail after the 31 mile turnaround

I was still feeling good despite the heat and the ibprofen seem to be helping me to manage the shin pain. The only issue was on some of the technical parts of the trail my shoes were cramping my toes and potentially would cause blisters again. At Emma Carlin Aid station at mile 47 I changed shoes into my old La Sportiva Cross Lites, these are more of a trail shoe which I liked but still were cramping my toes a bit. Now we were headed back through the open prairie and it was even hotter out now. When I left the aid station they told me it was 91 degrees out, but the heat still was really affecting me.

At Aid Station at mile 47.4

Out in the open again I felt pretty good so I started to run through most of the open prairie area and again caught and passed about 2-3 more people. Though after we got back on to the trail I was hurting a bit, my feet were starting to get sore and my shins were aching again. I discovered that the ibprofen works for about 5 hours but if I took one at 5 hours it would take about 45 minutes to kick in so there would be 45 minutes of pain. I quickly learned to start taking them early as to no have a lapse in pain relief.

I was mentally feeling strong and physically still doing ok, I ran with a few of the 100k runners from Emma Carlin(mile 47) to the Start/Finish area turnaround at mile 63. They reminded me not to spend too much time there as it would be tempting to call it quits and stay there. I took their advice and got in, changed shoes again to my Saucony Kinvaras, talked briefly to Adam Schwartz-Lowe a much better ultra runner than I and winner of the Zumbro 100. He decided to pull out at the 100K mark and not kill himself like I did. I left the Start/Finish area right around 9pm and it was about dusk. I had all of my night time gear with me so I was ready to take on the night, without a pacer this time. Luckily there was plenty of runners out on the course, especially since the 38 mile Fun Runners just started.

I was just under 2/3 of the way done and still feeling ok, especially now that the temps were cooling down. I ran through the night and only had a few freak out moments when I started thinking about the Blair Witch Project. Not a good idea when you are tied, probably dehydrated and alone running in the woods. The only real problem I had at night was that because I was still carrying two handheld bottles I could only use my head lamp for light and not my flashlight as well. This resulted in me kicking rocks and roots on several occasions and feeling like I broke a toe or two. Thankfully I didn't but a few times I had to stop and really walk for a while before I could get going again, plus it is a big demoralizer, especially at this point in the race. At about mile 70 things started to fall apart, I could feel that I was not catching anyone anymore and some people were catching up to me. At this point my shins were starting to hurt again and though I kept on schedule with my ibprofen they still seemed to be hurting. It also didn't help that I kicked two big roots with each of my feet that really hurt and slowed me down.

When I pulled into the Hwy 12 aid station at mile 77, I was hurting. The next aid station, the Rice Lake turnaround, was 4 miles away and the final turnaround point, but this was the most difficult part of the course. The next 8 miles took me about 3hrs and 15 minutes and they were painful. My right shin really started to acted up and there was nothing else I could. About a mile from the Hwy 12 AS (8 miles later) I was reduced to limping on one foot, I was pretty sure that this would be my last stop and that I'd have to drop out.

Not wanting to leave the aid station at Rice Lake

When I got into the Hwy 12 aid station I sat down in a chair, something that I never have done before for fear of not getting back up. I got some chicken noodle soup and and snacked on some chips. I talked to the aid station medical person and told him about my shin pain. He told me that I had a pretty good knot in my shin and that the good news was that I won't hurt it anymore by running on it. What I really wanted him to say was "you need to stop running," he didn't though he said its going to hurt but that I could make it. Easy for you to say you don't have to run 14 mile on one leg. He did rub some type of ointment on it that seemed to help and so I got up and hobbled down the trail. He told me that I'd have to limp the rest of the way and favor the right leg, so for the next 14 miles even when I was "running" it was still with a pretty significant limp.

This was a long stretch, it was 4.1 miles to the next un-maned aid station then 2.2 miles to the next staffed aid station. I was trying to maintain sub 20 minute miles, which is about a brisk walk, but I was in so much pain that any sort of walk was painful. I did decide that it was only slightly more painful to jog than it was to walk to I tried to jog as much as I could but this was again a limp more than a jog. As I approached the next maned aid station I was certain again that I'd have to drop out the pain was just too much and I was certainly not having fun anymore. I was even contemplating not running any more racing for the rest of the year. I was at the lowest of my lows and had there been a press conference right there I may have announced my retirement, but...I made it to the next aid station. There I talked to the staff again, sat down and had some more soup. One of the staff there iced down my shin and seemed to numb it up. The one encouraging point was that I thought I was 10 miles from the Finish and I was really only 7 miles. That was encouraging and I managed to head out again, the staff told me the next maned station was only 2.2 miles away then 5 miles to the finish.

I set out and it only took about 20 minutes for my shin to de-numb and start hurting again. It was pretty light out at this time and so I could clearly see everything and didn't need my light. Thankfully the last 14 miles were pretty flat and runable, so it was just a matter of getting to the finish. That 2.2 miles seemed to take forever, but I made it to the final aid stations, sat down again got some soup and iced down my shin. I didn't stay too long because I knew I was close, but I had a feeling that these last 5 miles would feel like an eternity. They did. This part of the course was pretty nice but I was down to my last ounce of strength and had to pretty much walk the entire time.

I remember telling myself to try and run to the next trail market sign, they were about every 30-50 yards. A few times I would have to stop and work up the strength to run, but I felt that I had to keep trying to run. I didn't care about my time or place I just need to finish this race. The last 20 miles I must have averaged about 25 minute miles, mostly walking. The sun was really starting to come up and it was starting to get hot out. A few more people passed me the last 5 miles but I didn't care one bit. The last 5 miles had mile markers and every time I would reach one I nearly stopped to hug the sign I was so happy. When I finally got to the 1 mile marker even started running, I thought I would run the entire last mile. That lasted for about a half mile, then I had to walk again. When the trail finally opened up and I could see the finish line I was ecstatic. I did manage to run the last 100 yards and crossed the finish. I was sooo relieved to be finished with the race. Adam was still at the start and I talked to him for a while and the race directors. I had to wait around a little bit for my drop bags to get back but I didn't stick around long. I was ready to get out of my shoes, shower, eat and get to bed.

After the finish, kettle in hand.

As I said goodbye to some of the runners and Adam he said "I'll see you in three weeks," referring to the Black Hills 100 milers, I told him, "I hope so." This race definitely took a toll on me and I'm still assessing if I'll be able to race Grandma's marathon and/or the Black Hills 100 both later on this month.

I think that if it weren't for the heat and my shins I would have had pretty fast time and a much less painful race, but I guess that's ultra running for you. This was a really really well run race with a lot of great runners and a great bunch of volunteers. I don't know that I would have finished if not for the help and encouragement of the volunteers and fellow runners, so thank you all for a most memorable race.

Place: 29th Overall (122 started and 46 finishers)
Division: 15th
Time: 27 hours 24 mins 34 sec

				Split Calculations
Checkpoint	Mileage	Time	Pace	Distance	Time	Pace
Nordic Center Start	0.000	26.3 seconds
Emma Carlin Outbound	15.800	3:05:28.7	11:44.4
Scuppernong Turnaround	31.600	6:37:54.2	12:35.5	15.80	3:32:25.4	13:26.7
Emma Carlin Inbound	47.400	10:26:11.8	13:12.7	15.80	3:48:17.7	14:26.9
Nordic Center 100K	63.200	14:29:29.9	13:45.5	15.80	4:03:18.1	15:23.9
Hwy 12 - Outbound	77.500	19:05:39.5	14:47.0	14.30	4:36:09.6	19:18.7
Rice Lake Turnaround	81.900	20:52:04.4	15:17.3	4.40	1:46:24.9	24:11.1
Hwy 12 - Inbound	86.300	22:56:33.0	15:57.0	4.40	2:04:28.6	28:17.4
Nordic Center Finish	100.600	27:24:34.5	16:20.9	14.30	4:28:01.6	18:44.6

Post race recovery burrito.

Now if that isn't worth running 100 mile in 90 degree weather, I don't know what is.

Carb Loading:

Now that we are fully into marathon season many new runners are looking to make sure they are properly fueled and experienced runners are trying to fine tune their hydration and fueling for their races.

Carb Loading has been associated with endurance sports for quite some time now and most people feel that it is an essential part of getting ready for that big race. Though it is important to maximize your carbohydrate reserves most people actually go about it the wrong way. The idea behind carb loading is to maximize the readily available carbohydrate stores in your muscles and liver. Most people can store about 2000 calories within their muscles and liver, which equals out to be about 19-21 miles. Once you run out of these readily available carbs your body will switch to burning body fat, which is a much less efficient fuel source. The process of the body switching from readily available carbs to body fat can generally be felt by the runner and is often not a pleasant experience. For me it is a sudden feeling of a loss of fuel, almost like I have not eaten anything is days, this is often referred to as "Hitting the Wall."

Runner and other endurance athletes want to maximize these stores in order to avoid hitting the wall as much as possible. In order to do this many runners just assume that you should just eat a lot of carbs leading up to the race. This is actually not what you really want to do, yes you will get more carbs and hopefully max your stores to a degree you might also gain some weight due to an increased amount of carbs and decreased exercise due to tapering.

You want to decrease your carb intake in order to condition your body to retain as many carbs as possible. For example if your race is on Saturday, the Sunday before the race you would want to eat about 60% less carbs than normal, then 50% on Monday, 40% Tuesday 30%, Wednesday 20% Thursday 10% Friday equal or more than you normal carb intake. When you are loading up on carbs remember that is it not just a lot of pasta, you need to also top off the carbohydrate stores that are in your liver. These are more glucose stores, so I will often have some fruit, which has more glucose than just pasta or potatoes. Remember to be careful when increasing any carb intake because many carbs like oatmeal, wholewheat pasta and grains have a lot of fiber in them and this can cause stomach issues and more trips to the bathroom than you may want...not something you want to worry about when running.

There is another easier way to maximize your carbs before a race. You can eat a normal diet throughout your taper week and simply get up the morning before your race a do several (5-10) 100m sprints or striders then eat a high carb diet the rest of the day. This will have the same effect of depriving your body of carb over a week. I have not tried this method before so I cannot really say if it works or not but it has been proven to have a similar effect. Now next time when you getting ready for that next race be sure your carb loading the right way.

Quote of the Day:

"Choosing an easy life rarely ends up with much of either."

-Hugh McLeod

Fargo Marathon 2011: Race Report

This year was another great time at the Fargo Marathon race and weekend. This was the 3 year that I have run an event at the Fargo marathon and it has always been a great race and fun weekend. I signed up for the full marathon, but was not too set on running too fast of a time simply because I had not been doing really any speed or tempo work leading up to the race due to my ultra training.

The weather report said 70% chance of rain and temps in the low 60's so as long as it didn't pour on us I'd be happy. It turns out that the weather was not too bad, it didn't end up raining at all and the temps slowly climbed to around 70. It was a bit hot out and sort of muggy but overall not too bad. The full marathon was set to start at 7:30am and we arrived at 6:45am to the Fargo Dome to get ready. Three other friends were running the half marathon as well and a few friends doing the full. One of the great things about the Fargo marathon is that despite it's rapid growth in numbers having the start and finish at the Fargo Dome allows the runners to utilize all of the facilities there. This mean plenty of bathrooms, which is such a great thing for those of you who have not had to wait 30 mins in line at the port-a-potties.

I figured I could run a sub 3 hour marathon, so I was targeting a time of 2hrs 50mins to 3hr. This is 6min 52 sec to a 6 min 29 sec mile minute pace. At 7:30am we all toed the line and got ready to go, a few of my friends from the run club and high school were at the start cheering me and other runners we knew. Another great thing about the Fargo marathon is that I have a lot of friends and family from that area so there is a lot of great fan support and fellow runners. The horn blew and we were off, the first mile at Fargo always seems fast and I usually run in too fast and this year was not different. I ran a 6:17 first mile, but I do like to get out and away from the pack right away. There is often a lot of congestion at the start of the race and I'd rather not get caught up in it.

The first few miles felt great and I was averaging about a 6:25-6:30 pace which was faster than I planned, but I felt good and was running with a few other runners that were targeting a 2:50 time so I wanted to try and stick with them as long as I could. The first half I did try and hold back a little bit because I was feeling good but didn't want to burn myself out in the first half. Around the the 14-15 mile mark I past the few runners that were targeting the 2:50 time at a water stop and never saw them again. One advantage on them that I had was that I was much faster through the aid stations than they were. Having done a number of race now I have had plenty of practice snatching those little paper cups and getting not slowing down while trying to drink and run. I cross the half way point at 1 hour 24 mins so a minute ahead of my goal of a 2:50 time and I was still feeling pretty good.

Now around mile 16-17 the course looped back and all of the half marathoners were running on the same course as the marathoners. This is my one complaint about the race, there are simply too many runners to try and weave through if you are running in the first 1/4 of the marathon pack. This means you really have to dodge a lot of slower runners as well as watch out for runners who are out doing a bit more fanfare. I had to stop and jump out of the way of slower runners and people cheering and high fiving runners at least three times. Other than this the race is very well organized and all involved do a great job.

The last 10 miles I was starting to feel that my legs were straining a bit and my right shin actually started to ache a little bit, but overall still felt good. I decided to start pushing a bit to see what I could do, it wasn't much of a push but as we were weaving through the half marathoners I lost the small pack of runners that was right behind me and caught one of the runners ahead of me. As we made the turn towards the dome and the home stretch I got a wave of energy and decided to lay it on the line. With a bit over a mile left I decided to kick it in and see what I could do, the crowds of people near the dome helped a lot as well as having a separate lane for marathoners. Running through the parking lot of the dome there was plenty of crowd support and I was feeling great, I even was waving my arms to get the crowd even more pumped up which only fueled me to go faster.

Down the home stretch and into the Fargo Dome for one of the best marathon finishes that I've down. Every runner, no matter what race finished in the Dome with a massive screaming crowd and your image on the big screen. I think I was running about a 5 min pace the last few yards and I was pumped. I crossed with a time of 2:49:26 only about 4 minute off of my personal best, and 17th place overall. All in all I had a better race than I thought and had a great time after the race celebrating with friends and family. Yep I'll be back next year.

Great T-Shirt Design

Just had to share this design I found, I got a kick out of it.

Finding that Flow:

It seems that once or maybe twice while training for a race there will be a run that just feels great. Basketball players refer to it as being in the zone and other talk about being the flow or flow state. In more general terms means to be in a mental state of focus and positive energy.

Tonight I was feeling it and was definitely in some sort of flow. I think that it is often more difficult for distance runners to get into the flow state because the workouts you do are generally very calculated and precise. "Runner this distance at this pace and at this heart rate." At least this was the case for me last year when I was much more focused on turning out a good marathon time. This year with more of a focus on running trail races and ultras my training schedule is a lot more flexible. Tonight I decided to head out on a tempo run and wanted to average 6:15 minute mile pace for about 8 miles. I think I did that and really felt great the whole time. There were times when I really felt like my legs could not carry me fast enough. I never really felt winded and my legs felt fresh the whole time. I did have some tightness in my stomach but that could have just been the 2 donuts a eat before I went out for the run.

It was also fun to run at night. I don't really do it that much but the weather was gorgeous out for a change, high 50's with little wind. It seemed like the perfect temp outside and being that it was around 10pm there early wasn't anyone else out. I ran along the Mississippi River Blvd on the Minneapolis and St. Paul side and the have a lot of great street lights that line that biking and running paths. The nice part about them is that there are a lot of them so if you are really moving it feels like you're zooming past them. Like I said it doesn't happen too often and rarely happens during a race, but when you find that groove and get into that flow state you can really move. Here is the workout with heart rate and pace if you want to check it out.

Upper Midwest Trail Runners:

I have recently joined the Upper Midwest Trail Runner Association, which is an association of runners who prefer to run off road. The organization promotes and helps to encourage people to get out there and enter some of the great trail races throughout the Midwest. UMTR offers trail series which is basically a point system that tracks your results through various races. There is one that includes numerous shorter races such as 5ks, 10ks and 25ks and there is an ultra distance version that has 50ks trail races and longer and then there is the Gnarly Bandit Ultra race series.

This series includes the following races which some you have the option of a 100 miles or 100k. Now I did register for this series, but we will see how long I last. The year starts out in with three 100 miles races within the first 3 months and I also am going to try and do two other marathons within that time frame as well. The good news is that the runner with the most points at the end of the series gets $500 from Wilderness Athlete, so that's a bit of motivation. I'm actually more worried about if I can afford to even enter all of these races and pay for hotels and travel. 100 miles race registrations fees are normally $100-$200 and then there is all of the travel costs, so we'll see. This running thing just isn't as cheap as it used to be.

Zumbro 100 Mile Endurance Run	Zumbro Falls, MN	04/08/2011
Kettle Moraine 100 Mile / 100K	Eagle, WI	06/04/2011
Black Hills 100 Mile / 100K	Sturgis, SD	06/25/2011
Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile	Lutsen, MN	09/09/2011
Wild Duluth 100K	Duluth, MN	10/15/2011

Looking Past Your Limites:Caroline Casey-TED Talk

Caroline Casey give a fantastic TED Talk about not letting anything get in the way of you reaching you goals. I won't spoil the talk but it is a great example of a person overcoming a major obstacle in their lives to achieve great things.

In my experience it seems like the biggest thing standing in the way of anyone achieving what you want in life is themselves. Whether that is running, work or personal life you are capable of doing just about anything if you have enough determination.

Minneapolis Trail Running: Winchell Trail

Winchell Trail

Yesterday I set out on a 25-30 mile run with the intent of averaging 7 minute miles in preparation for the Fargo Marathon. I didn't exactly average 7 minute miles, I was a bit sore from lifting the day before and I have found that with all of the base training that I have been doing for the 100 mile races that I have lost a lot of speed. I did ok and got a few good tempo miles in, see my garmin read out below.

The great part about my run yesterday was the discovery of Winchell Trail this link is the best description I could find on it. It is definitely a little known path in Minneapolis which start around the Franklin St. Bridge along the River Road and goes nearly to the Ford Bridge. There was a bit of flooding in some of the low areas of the trail because the river was still very high but I got to run most of it. It is actually a great trail, most of it is not too challenging but there are some pretty good single track areas, which is not too bad for being only a few miles from downtown Minneapolis. One thing is for sure the Nike Free 3.0s are not meant for trail running especially when it is muddy out.

This was definitely a nice surprise to the end of my run and I'll definitely be logging some miles on this trail, unfortunately I think it's only a few miles long but I can't really complain I live in Minneapolis. Below are some pictures of the trail I took with my cell phone, enjoy.

Minnehaha Falls

Minnehaha Falls were roaring

Minnehaha creek

Yep, plenty of hills

Very weird gorge with a drainage line and that brick thing. I don't know what it is.

More hill training

One of the cool parts about this trail is that you are right down by the Mississippi river and it doesn't even feel like you are in the city anymore.

Trail huddles

There were some very steep ares, the Nike Frees held up though.

I thought this was funny, someone a runner I would guess left a gatorade with some cups on top as an impromptu water stop. I guess it is sort of like an Easter egg hunt for runners.


Single Track running

Marshall/Lake St. Bridge

There are still some remnants of winter

Looks like good place to train for Zumbro for next year.

If anyone is interested it looks like Rapunzel's house if for sale.

New Habits:

How to form a habit? Whether it's dragging yourself out of bed in the morning for those morning runs or updating your blog on a consistent basis. It is tough for start a new habit and even tougher to get rid of bad ones.

I have recently joined the Toast Masters International club, which an organization that provides a learn-by-doing environment for improving your communication and public speaking. I would highly recommend this to anyone who has give presentations, speeches, talks or has a lot of interaction with other people for the jobs or hobbies.

Anyways, in last weeks meeting one of our members gave a speech on forming new habits and the one thing that I really got out of the speech was that it typically takes 21 days to form a new habit. Now this is sort of a generally rule and the ability to form a habit is done by repetition which allows the electrical nerve in your brain to establish a strong path or foundation.

The example that Jim, who gave the speech, provided we flossing. He would always get talked to by his dentist about not flossing, so he decided to floss for 21 days straight. That was 5 years ago and he is still flossing everyday and both he and his dentist appreciates it. So for all of you who are looking to start working out, reading more or need to floss more regularly. 21 days is your goal, if you can make it 21 days you should have a great foundation for you new habit. Thanks Jim great speech and I look forward to more in the future.