Lessons from the Zumbro 50 Mile Endurance Run

I had intended to participate in this year’s Zumbro Endurance Run 17 miler, but a friend encouraged me to consider running the 50 miler as the night running and distance may be more in line with my goals for this season. He encouraged me to use this run to learn some lessons that I can take into the rest of the year, and the 100-mile world.

The course was a scenic pre-foliage tour of south-eastern Minnesota’s river bluff land. The 50 mile version (the race also has a 100 mile and 17 mile) was 3 loops with over 9,000 feet of climbing.  I had been told this was a good early season race, but I wasn’t entirely prepared for the climbing. Coming off of a winter of wrapping up graduate school, and peaking my training at about 25 miles a week, this event was all about getting experience. I got it!

1 mile into loop 3. That’s the start/finish area down below. The bluffs provide an amazing view!

This isn’t really a race-report. As a project manager, I know the value of documenting “lessons learned” as soon as possible. I put together a pretty long Google Doc for my future reference, but I thought I’d publicly post some of them in the hopes that it may help others. There are also some questions in there. I’d love any thoughts left as comments below!

Loop 2, coming into AS4 – Photo: Kevin Chem
  • Overnight running: The event started at midnight, and I really didn’t sleep much ahead of it. I was warned that there would be a low point. It came at about 4:30 am. I wasn’t fatigued from running… it was just way past my bed time. That was when I most wanted to quit.
  • Sunrise: I was also told that the sun will fix all of that when it comes up… it did! I knew that in my head, but experiencing it first hand will help in future endeavors.
  • Clean clothes and brushed teeth are almost as awesome as the sun for refreshing me.
  • Salt supplements (SCaps, Endurolytes, etc) don’t sit well with my stomach. I need to find a different source of sodium.
  • My body doesn’t like to eat between midnight and 5am. I need figure that one out.
  • Ensure (Vanilla) is my new best friend.
  • Any time lost caring for my feet, is made up for in capacity later.
  • My Garmin Vivo Active (non HR) lasts 9 hours with vibrations turned off.
  • It takes 2 hours to charge it with my Anker Astro E1 5200mAh charger. It didn’t even use up 25% of the Anker’s capacity to recharge. The entire cycle was 11 hours.
  • It didn’t bother me to run with my watch plugged into a charger.
  • Lithium AA batteries are lighter than traditional batteries, and made my headlamp lighter.
  • Do I need backup batteries AND a backup light? Or could I get away with the latter?
  • Ginger Ale is the best
  • So are orange smiles
  • I didn’t mind the loops.
  • When fatigued, I adopted a 1/1 shuffle/walk ratio. Switching every minute. Watching the clock was tiresome. It’s a good duty for a pacer.
  • Poles looked nice when I saw others using them late. I’ll have to ask some seasoned friends for their opinion. Helpful? Or in the way?

Finally, there was nothing better than seeing close friends and family. I got through the 2nd of 3 loops just in time to see the 17 mile race begin. My wife, and some of my running friends were getting started. They were all able to encourage me and that was a huge help. I also saw my wife at a shared aid station later in the course. Nothing got me going more than those encounters. I think a good crew will really help me.

So… I hit my step goal

Bison stampede a marathon course

One thing I love about distance running, is the chance to see some of the most beautiful territory in the world.

The problem is: Sometimes the most beautiful areas of the world are dangerous.

At this mile 5 aid station on the Layton Syracuse Marathon course in Utah, a herd of bison decided to move from the right side of the road to the left.

The Pacer

I’m surprised by how many “Life-lessons” I learn when out on the trail.

This weekend, I learned a new one.

A good friend of mine set his sights on running a 100 mile trail race. In the latter parts of a race like this, he is allowed to take on a “Pacer”. The pacer is another runner, with relatively fresh legs, who can help mentally push him to the finish line. I put in 25 miles overnight to help my friend finish this (crazy) test  of endurance. Along the way (and I had a LOT of time to think) a few parallels to the REST of my life emerge:

1 – You don’t need to have experienced the pain… to help another through it.

I have never run, nor ever aspire to run, 100 miles. But just being there to watch the highs and the lows encouraged my friend to finish. I couldn’t say “I know what you’re going through”… I really didn’t. When he started running, I was still 300 miles away… in bed. But he mentioned later that just having me there kept him fighting.

2 – Learning when to speak, and when to listen is important

On the trail, we had many wonderful conversations. And we had many long moments of silence. There were times I needed to help my friend by distracting him and telling him a funny story. And there were times we just needed to keep moving forward in silence. There were times when I could say something like “Way to go… you can do this”. And there were times that saying something like that could have earned me a shove into the woods. In many of those times, I just prayed for him.

It’s the same thing as I come along side a friend going through any other struggle. Sometimes I need to send a word of encouragement, and sometimes I need to stand by silently and just pray for them.

3 – Don’t neglect your own needs

My focus for this run was singular. Get my friend to the finish line. But in the context of his 100 mile run, it was easy to forget… I’m going 25 miles and 25 miles is still a very long ways.

I found it easy to focus on his needs and even easier to forget what I needed to do for myself on the run.

As we help others who are going through life struggles, be sure to keep your own tank filled. Take time to talk with God. Take time to examine your own life and your own family. Don’t neglect your own well being to the point that it could become damaging.

These are some lessons I am going to take with me for the rest of my life as I work on coming along side others on this long journey we are all in together.

(Image Source: Flickr)

Ice Age Trail 50

My name is Carl… and I’m an Ultra-runner.

This weekend, I ran the Ice Age Trail 50K trail run in La Grange, WI.

The first 14 miles consisted of a single track out-and-back up over some extremely scenic vistas. I really enjoyed getting into a pack of runners and running, single-file, along some single-track trail. We worked hard to avoid rocks/roots/each other.

I felt good and had locked in at what I thought was a fairly conservative pace.

The out-and-back brought me back to the start/finish where I began the first of what would be 2 loops around a nordic ski trail.

The trail was much wider for the rest of the run.

The sun started to break through the clouds around mile 15 and things started to heat up.

The front of the pack runners who were on their 2nd loop were extremely encouraging (the ultra-community in general is made up of some the least pretentious athletes I’ve ever met).

About 15 miles in, the gentle trail gave way to some pretty significant rolling hills that were about as hard to go down as they were to go up. That was unexpected and took a lot out of me. The water bottle was down to vapors as I made it to the next aid station (at just over 5 miles from the previous station, this was the furthest distance between aid stations). I topped off the water, grabbed some potato chips and Heed and took off for the last part of the loop.

The last 4 miles of the loop were significantly more gentle, but the earlier hills had taken a lot out of me. My stomach wasn’t too happy with me either. The aid stations were heavy on sugar, but I’m not sure my gut could handle the sweetness.  I still need to figure out the nutrition thing. Time to do some more reading.

When I made it back to the Start/Finish, I stopped at my drop bag to change socks. I also dropped my water bottle and picked up my camelback. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to go another 5 miles on just 30oz of water.

The last loop was slower, but I ended up finishing in just over 7 hours. It was an hour longer than I was targeting, but I’ve learned that trail miles are much different than road miles. The slow pace I started with… should have been a little slower.

BIG thanks to Keri and Brian Peterson for the photos!

Hanging out with some other Minnesotans before race time.

Finished!

A Hero

It just hit me:

  • I wear tights
  • Sometimes a mask
  • I run through my neighborhood
  • I undertake feats of strength and endurance.
  • Some people admire me for it.
  • Most people think I’m crazy

I’m not a runner… I’m a Superhero!

 

Running in the Heat

Yesterday and today, my homestate of Minnesota kisses 100 F for the daily high.

I’ve had a few friends ask me how I handle running in these conditions. I thought I’d put down my hot-weather running process.

Get up EARLY.

The morning temps have been in the mid to lower 70s the last couple of days. Still humid, but a little cooler. While rolling out of bed to go for a run may not be your idea of a good start to the day. I have NEVER regretted getting up with the sun. Just experiencing the world come alive is amazing

Get indoors.

I have the luxury of working at a place with an indoor gym and track. It’s not as fun, and gets a bit repetitive, but it’s something. Perhaps it’s a good day to work on some track based speed work.

Check with your local community centers. See if your local fitness center offers a day pass option. Even if you have to find a treadmill (Dreadmill), you can get your mileage in.

Cross Train

Hot days are a nice time to hit the cycle and get a little wind in your face. But it is still important to take it easy and drink a lot of water. Cyclists can over heat too. And sometimes that wind can be a little deceptive.

Yesterday, I spent the time at the beach with the girls. A few laps in the river couldn’t hurt.

Spend the time doing some core work or strength training. I tend to be really bad at taking the time for strength training. Hot days are a great time to take care of that.

Slow Down!

I love using Jeff Galloway’s heat adjustment guide. For every 5 degrees over 60, add 30 seconds to your pace. So if you are comfortable running a 10 minute mile – Adjust it to 13-14 minutes per mile when the temps are 90-100.

Skip it!

I have run in sub zero temps, but hot weather is just plain dangerous. There is a reason Marathon’s have a black-flag when the weather gets hot.

A military friend once said “There’s no bad weather… just bad clothing”. But I’ll counter that, in winter, you can ALWAYS add another layer. My neighbors are pretty insistant that I can only take so many layers off.

You won’t lose your fitness progress if you have to skip a day because of the heat.

Sometimes… it’s just not safe out there.

What else?

So, I’m not a running expert. I just run. What do you do to escape the summer heat? How does it impact your training schedule? I could use any tips/tricks/ideas you have! Please share them.

 

[Vid] What do you run for?

Why do you run? I love this video.

I’m running the Twin Cities Marathon in October with Team World Vision. I’d love to have you join my team and run with me! Training officially starts this week!

Not interested in running? I’d love to have you participate with a financial gift to my team! Let’s change some lives together.

Online Pace Calculator

Here’s another great online resource I use for running.

The Cool Running Pace Calculator allows me to calculate goal paces and race potential.

It include 3 variables:

  • Time
  • Distance
  • Pace

You just need to enter 2 of the variables, and it will calculate the third.

For instance, a question I often ask myself is: “If I could maintain that pace for a marathon, what would my time be?”

So I enter the pace in question (pace), and the marathon (distance), then calculate the goal time.