Door County Half Marathon

Door County Half Marathon

May 7^th, 2016

On the 7th the whole family made the trek up to Door County for the Door County Half Marathon.  Jess made her race debut post baby #2, I was looking to knock some rust off before the Ice Age Trail 50 Mile race the following weekend and our parents came along to watch the girls and cheer us on.  My plan was to win the race, be conservative and possible snatch a course record. 

The hour and a half trip up to Peninsula State park was uneventful.  I picked up our packets, Jess and I went on our warm-up and we met back up with the family in the staging area which is about a quarter of a mile from the start.  I went off to use the restroom, came back to our meeting spot and the family was gone!!! It is now 15 minutes before the race.  There are 2500 racers and  hundreds of spectators on a 12 foot wide road that is wooded on both sides between me and the start line. My parents have my jersey and are somewhere in the masses.  I dodge the trees and scramble to the start line in hopes that Jess is waiting there with my jersey, she is waiting there but she is not holding a jersey.  We both scramble back through the woods going our own direction.  I get to the end of masses and I still haven’t found my parents.  I ask a random person to use their phone and call my parents; Jess found them and is back at the start with my jersey.  As I start to sprint back to the start line I bump into my father in-law, I give him my warm-ups and continue on.  I meet Jess, get my jersey and try to settle my nerves.

BANG! The gun goes off.  Knowing I’m on an adrenaline rush from the jersey fiasco I focus on staying calm and relaxed.  I hit the 1^st mile in 5:30 and I’m all by myself.  I continue to stay calm and relaxed and stroll through the rolling hills of Peninsula State park clipping off miles between 5:10 and 5:30 pace, never letting the pace feel laboring.  I break the tape in 1:10:02. Mission accomplished.

After some high fives and congratulations I back track the course to find Jess.  I get to around the 11 mile mark and there she is.  I encourage her on through her struggles of the last couple of mile.  Nearing the finish line she picks up our daughter Audrey and they cross the line together.  It wasn’t the race she was hoping for but it was a good for a comeback race none the less.

All in all it was a great race, even with the jersey fiasco at the start.  I got a nice gift basket for the win, it was a scenic course, the volunteers were great and the race was very well put on.  You can plan on seeing me at this race again in the years to come.

Ice Age Trail 50 Mile

Ice Age Trail 50 Mile
May 14th, 2016

Ice Age Trail 50 wasn't initially on my race schedule; however, i was asked to run the race.  With it being the 35th anniversary of the race and a $5000 bonus for a course record and $200 for age group records, I decided to take part.  Max King set the course record and my age group record in 2014 with the insane time of 5:41:07.  Two years ago I ran just under 5:28 at TNF-WI which is on the trails just north of IAT50 so I figured on a good day I'd have a shot at the record.

The race started off great.  In the first 9 mile loop I was clipping off miles well ahead of record pace and the race was feeling almost too good.  On the next out and back loop, things continued to go well and I felt great.  At the 30.5 mile aide station Jess said that I was ~5 minutes under course record pace (I made a cheat sheet for her that had what time I had to be at each aide station for the record... yes I'm a runner nerd sometimes).  Mile 33 I had a little rough patch where I got light headed.  My legs felt great, I just got starry vision so I backed off a little bit and it clear up.  Fast forward 3 miles and the same thing happened.  This time I had to walk for almost 3 miles before I felt comfortable enough to run without fear of passing out.  At this point the 5 plus minutes I was under CR pace was wiped out and I was actually well behind pace to even make it up in the last 10 or so miles.  That being said I jogged it into the 40 mile aide station and called it a day (best aide station I've ever been to which was put on by Flatlander ultrarunners... they had beer, shots, music, dance party, cold pizza, etc).

                       
Unfortunately this was not the first time I experienced  lightheadedness in a 50 mile race. At Fall 50 last year in Door County, I had the same thing happen around 30 miles as well. Both races I was taking plenty of fluids and nutrition.  Both races my legs felt fine and I was injury free.  Looks like I need to experiment with some different electolye mixes, sugar mixes and race fueling.

All in all, I'm new at this ultra stuff yet and will take these races as learning experiences to improve for the future. I finally have my injuries in check and I am developing specific strength in order for this mid-western guy to compete with the best on the mountains (thanks to my PT wife)! The first electrolyte mix that I am going to experiment with is Tailwind Nutrition. I will have to find something else with higher natural sugar and good absorption in order to prevent glucose depletion between 30-40 miles. 

I did have good success with my new FITS socks, which provided just enough cushion and moisture wicking to prevent blisters from forming! Definitely my new favorite sock! Plus they are made in the USA!

Next up US 50 mile trail champs at Cayuga Trails in Ithaca, NY on June 4th.  The race has a solid list runners, can't wait for the fun.