50 Miler – Every Mile Becomes a Part of Me

BHAGs: A New Challenge

I’ve decided to post on this blog when the moment hits me . . . when I’m giddy with excitement about a new challenge, new BHAG, or a new adventure.

Today is one of those days . . . today I learned about Infinitus.

The Endurance Society Infinitus

Besides not knowing exactly what it is . . . the name alone sounded cool. The latin geek in me was so intrigued & when I heard that the RD from Potawatomi Trail Runs was running it – I had to learn more!

The Infinitus is a race that is taking place right now in Goshen, VT within the Green Mountain National Forest directed by Andy Weinberg. It is a 888K trail run that started earlier today (Thursday, May 19th @ 8:08 AM) & has a 240 Hour Cutoff.

Obviously I can’t run this race this year . . . but maybe there is a future year that I attempt The Infinitus! ❤ *I’m really giddy with excitement!!*

Registration for this insanely challenging event is through The Endurance Society (http://www.endurancesociety.org/infinitus.html)

The Endurance Society

One Year “Run-versary”

One year ago today, I ran my first marathon – The Wisconsin Marathon – in my “transplant home town” of Kenosha, Wisconsin.

You would think that by now this might have sunk in – even the slightest bit – but one year later, it still has not.

Since completing this marathon, I have completed a few smaller distance races (10K or less), two Ragnar Relays, four half marathons, three more marathons, two 50Ks, & one 50 miler. Therefore, if I have learned anything, I have learned that “I am capable of so much more than I ever imagined” & that “limits, like fears, are often just an illusion”.

Even though I have accomplished so much, I still struggle to consider myself a marathoner or even an ultra runner. In my head, I’m still the every day, average Joe runner. Thinking about running any distance still stirs up all sorts of anxiety. Can I do this? What was I thinking when I registered for this? Am I insane? Why did I ever think this was a good idea? What if I fail? It is when these voices of doubt start that I have to make my own voice louder & stronger. I can do this . . . I have trained for months to do this! I like challenges – Courage to Start . . . Strength to Endure . . . Resolve to Finish! I am a Half Fanatic & a Marathon Maniac so I am a Secretly Insane Double Agent! And then there are some of my favorite quotes relating to failure: “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell . . . “Failure is success if we learn from it.” – Malcolm Forbes . . . “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” – Henry Ford . . . “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” – Bill Cosby

I will be celebrating this “run-versary” by returning to The Wisconsin Marathon on May 7th & stepping it up a notch by completing The Kalamazoo Marathon on May 8th – thus completing The Mitten Challenge.

My goals for this weekend are to:

Have fun! There is no point in running these races if I can’t have fun & enjoy the experience!
Successfully complete The Mitten Challenge & level up as a Marathon Maniac!
Improve my time from last year’s Wisconsin Marathon.

Every mile becomes a part of me . . . & I am a DISTANCE RUNNER!

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Race Recap: The SUCK Midwest (04.15.2016)

The SUCK Midwest (04.15.2016)

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to crew for The SUCK, so this is my first recap from a semi-spectator perspective.

First impressions . . . WOWZERS!

Running can be tough, but after adding in half your weight buddy bags, 50lb sand pills, tires, 8lb sledge hammers, & 5 gallon buckets it turns into an OH MY! Then adding in running, various forms of PT (e.g. burpees), & rucking without sleep & it turns into a WTH!

Now most people after witnessing all of the acts of badassery that I did, would have adopted that “Thanks – you’re doing great, but not for me” attitude . . . & I honestly thought that would have been my take away too.

I can run miles upon miles, but this extra stuff just doesn’t appeal to me . . . yeah, I don’t know really how to explain it, but something happens when you are around all of these magnificent feats badassery & awesomeness that your perspective starts to shift ever so slightly to the “I think I could do that” realm.

The night had various activities such as:

67 burpees
a dip & walk in the local creek
a water carry with both 5 gallon buckets full of water
67 push presses with one full bucket
a mile bear hug water carry back to base.
a burpee loop (4 times over the 12 hours)
a mile plus buddy bag carry (4 times)
a PT circuit (4 times)
100 sledge-hammer strikes on the tire
a concrete block collection
digging a trench
running a mile plus time trial (4 times)
tire flips
a mile plus off trail ruck (ruck sack with 50lb sand pill inside, plus the tire & sledge-hammer strapped onto the ruck, & carrying both 5 gallon buckets)
100 ruck sack push presses
200 sit ups
300 squats

I’m exhausted just thinking about everything that they did & I know that this OCR – at times – lived up to its name . . . it SUCKED; but it was the perfect opportunity to find the magic in the misery & to embrace everything that was good & peaceful.

The area was magical & brimmed with wildlife! There were hawks everywhere! During the night activities there were beautiful serenades made up of crickets, frogs, owls, & coyotes. And the clear night sky presented an abundance of stars as far as you could see. At morning’s edge – the birds started to beckon the sun to rise with their song. It was glorious!

THE GOOD: ‘S Wonderful,’S Marvelous

Everyone that knows me knows that I have a soft spot for animals – all animals. I can be completely & total enamored with birds, deer, coyotes, squirrels, chipmunks, etc.

I was in complete & total heaven with the beauty of this area. I couldn’t help, but get lost in its magic! I am completely looking forward to going back to this area for some good ol’ fashion hiking to explore the trails & be engulfed in its natural beauty again!

THE BAD: My middle name is not Grace.

On the off trail ruck there was a place along the creek that I had to jump a fair distance (OK – in my mind it was a fair distance . . . in actuality I have no idea what the distance was & that is my story & I’m stickin’ to it). Well, believe it or not, “grace” is not my middle name & I may or may not have ended up with a partial face plant & sprained wrist. Nothing broke (which was my first fear) & the mud / dirt brushed off, & while my self-esteem is still being evaluated, I was (& still am) no worse for wear.

My Trail Toes, OM VP2, & Black Diamond trekking poles otherwise kept me on my feet & going all night – even just a week after my first 50 miler! 🙂

AND THE UGLY: No Sleep.

Two weekends in a row of no sleep over 24hrs takes its toll on me now. Recovery takes longer & I can’t say that I’m my chipper self all of the time. I’m definitely not saying no to pulling all nighters, but back to back weekends of it would eventually catch up with me.

SUMMARY:

Now, I am not saying that I am signing up for The Ultimate SUCK in September – I have my senses about me somewhat! 😉 After all I will be running my first 100 miler less than a month later, BUT I’m not ruling out giving my best effort for the 12 hour SUCK next year. 😛 I’m working on living up to my Sister’s nickname for me . . . Crazy Pants Gunkel!

Besides, Joe & Nicole Decker are amazing people & everyone would be better off after spending some time around their enthusiasm! ❤

2016-04-17 20.22.37

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Race Recap: Paleozoic Trail Runs – Silurian Spring (03.26.2016)

Paleozoic Trail Runs – Silurian Spring (03.26.2016)

Over the weekend I successfully completed my second 50K & I almost feel like I can start to be considered an ultra runner!

Overall this was an awesome race . . .

First time experiencing the beautiful Cook County Forest Preserve! *I will be back to this area for training & racing!*
Flexible & encouraging Race Directors!
Ran with some incredible ultra runner “Time Lords” that have inspired me to take my running to the next level!
Amazing, supportive volunteers!
All of my gear worked fabulously – especially my Orange Mud Hydraquiver Vest Pack 2, my Trail Toes, & my new Louva arm sleeves!

Here area my key “take aways” from this race!

THE GOOD: 32 minute PR!

This might be temporarily renamed “THE AMAZING” . . . the best part is I know that I can do even better next time!

The Huff 50K was my baseline – this 50K was to see how I’m truly doing with all of my training. There are some areas of “low hanging fruit” that I think I can seize immediately (e.g. more hill training, better planning for aid stations / fuel, better strategy for drop bag, better understanding of the course, etc.).

I’m rather excited to see how my times shape up for the rest of the year now.

THE BAD: Some course confusion & under estimating of temperatures.

There is this risk with every race / run regarding knowing the course . . . unfortunately, within 1.5 miles from the start there was a small group of us that came to a complete stop to debate which direction to go & had that uneasy feeling for a bit about whether we had chosen poorly or not.

My feedback for this course would be to next time make more frequent markers, avoid marking leaves that can be moved around, when in doubt – over mark, & if possible – have a volunteer direct runners at intersections.

In regards to the temperatures . . . I was perfectly comfortable in my Orange Mud short sleeved tech shirt, but I should have opted for compression shorts versus capris. It started to get warm within the first hour of running & I think I would have been more comfortable / cooler in the shorts . . . coulda, shoulda, woulda . . . welcome to the learning curve of running. On a positive note, my new Louva arm sleeves (http://www.louvagear.com/) worked perfectly!

AND THE UGLY: Wet feet!

I fear that my poor toes will never be the same. Ever since The North Country Trail Marathon last year – I’ve had one poor little toenail that has never recovered & I’m afraid that some other toes will be joining the rebellion.

Although the RD ran the course on Friday & reported that there were a few wet spots – I think with more thawing & the course being beat down in some areas from the other fabulous runners – the wet spots were water spots up to my ankles. <sigh>

I fully embraced it & muttered numerous times to “Suck it up, Buttercup!” . . . but that didn’t mean that my feet were happy.

On the negative side – I planned poorly – I should have put my Salomon Speed Cross 3 trail running shoes in my drop bag . . . but I forgot. I did however remember to put all of my dry max socks in my drop bag. This bit me not only at the drop bag aid station, but also when I completed my first out & back, because then I could change into my Salomons, but I didn’t have any other pairs of dry max socks to change. <wa wa waaaaa> Oh well, you live & learn, at least I had another spare pair of running socks in my gear boxes & my travel size Trail Toes in my VP2! I changed out of the wet socks & runners, reapplied the Trail Toes, put on dry socks & Salomons, & took off for my final out & back!

SUMMARY:

Overall an awesome day & this has kicked off my next series of adventures. After talking with one of the magical Time Lords – Jose – I have decided to definitely embrace The Illinois Ultra Slam series. My next ultra is on April 9th (in less than 2 weeks) at the Potawatomi 50 Miler. *yep – my heart still skips when I think about what I’ve registered to do.* GO BIG OR STAY HOME!! Time to see how 50 miles will feel in preparation for The North Country 50 Miler & The Hennepin Hundred 100 Miler. *oy!*

Paleozoic Trail Runs - Silurian Spring 20160326

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly Race Recap: The Huff 50K (12.19.2015)

The Huff 50K (12.19.2015)

Over the weekend I successfully completed my first 50K . . . WHOA!

Overall this was a memorable race . . .

First time experiencing the Indiana Chain O’ Lakes State Park! *I will be back to run this race again!*
I realized that I have come so far & I am capable of so much more than I ever knew!
Amazing, supportive volunteers!
All of my gear worked fabulously – especially my Orange Mud Hydraquiver Vest Pack 2, my Orange Mud insulated bottles, my Trail Toes, & Shower Pill!

Here area my key “take aways” from this race!

THE GOOD: I did it!

The goal of this race was to successfully complete it within the course time limits & I DID!

There were several points throughout this race that I thought about quitting, but I persevered. I have now stepped into the world of ultras! *Even if it is considered a baby ultra.*

The next goal will be to improve my 50K time, but for now I’m going to revel in the fact that I have conquered this distance! I’m officially an ultra chick in the making! 😛

THE BAD: Colder than a witch’s t*t!

On the positive side – I didn’t freeze. On the negative side – I wasn’t warm. 😦

At the start of the race the temperatures were in the upper 20s, but with the wind chill it felt more like 15 degrees F . . . not horribly, horribly cold, but colder than anything that I have run in for prolong periods of time.

My Cuddl Duds active wear long sleeve shirt & fleece top worked great along with my Road Runner Sports compression tights, but it took me awhile to warm up after completing the race & various parts of me had wind / cold burn.

I will definitely need to tweak my winter running apparel before I tackle more runs with Ol’ Man Winter.

AND THE UGLY: I am my own worse enemy.

I faced an enemy during this race.

A devil that is darker than anything I have encountered.

I faced myself.

This race consisted of two laps of the course & I can say that I ran a majority of it by myself & I had numerous panic attacks along the way. 😦

To start I was told by the RD that the course time limit was “sunset, so approximately 8 hours”. Therefore, if the start time was 8:15am; then the course closed at 4pmish.

Initially, I was OK with this time limit. I figured that I had completed my fastest marathon in 5:40ish so how much more time could ~5 miles take??

My estimates were slightly off . . . while wrapping up my first lap I was just at 4 hours. I was baffled by this . . . ~15 miles took me 4 hours. YIKES. Granted, I had to take a bio break & I stopped to eat (OMG – I love boiled salted potatoes!!!), but I hadn’t realized how a technical, hilly trail could slow my pace down. Plus, it didn’t help that I had not run any distance beyond 15 miles in 6 weeks.

I felt very alone throughout this race & I became frustrated with myself . . . why? I’m still not sure. I think I somehow had lost faith in myself. 😦 I was letting my inner voice / demons get to me. 😥

It also didn’t help that every runner that I tried to reach out to to find some type of companionship heading into the second lap was DNF’ing. The guy in front of me said that there was “no way that he could take another 4+ hours of the course & elements”. And the girl behind me said “only stupid people continue on”. So here I was passing the main tent & being faced with the decision on whether to DNF or push on.

I took a quick inventory of myself – physically & mentally – to decide if I should continue.

Physically – I was hurting. I had made a rookie move at the start of the race by using the race provided toe warmers (i.e. hot hands for feet) & my right foot had developed a nice blister where the warmer had inched out of place.

Mentally – I was struggling. Was I stupid? Should I have quit like everyone else? What if I failed? I felt like I was drowning in negativeness & my inner demons were stripping me down one layer at a time.

As I passed over the timing strip the RD asked if I was going to continue or not . . . I paused & then told him that I didn’t have a choice. I came here to run this race & be a 50K finisher . . . so I pressed on.

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind & find my soul.” – Unknown

Within 5 minutes of making the decision to continue, I had another round of panic attacks until I forced myself to evaluate how much time was left and what pace I needed to maintain. It was then that I realized that sunset wasn’t until 5 p.m.ish, and I had closer to 9 hours to finish the race instead of the original 8 hours stated by the RD. So even though the course time cutoff would be close, I had enough time to still complete the race.

This was all the motivation I needed. I pushed on and tried to maximize my pace where I could.

I didn’t find another runner to share the experience with until roughly mile 18, and that was short-lived because she (Shannon) encouraged me to continue without her so that I didn’t run the risk of not completing within the course limit. Even though our time together was brief, I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the trail time with her and hearing about her running adventures. It definitely helped to take my mind off what I was trying to accomplish.

I then met Winston, Isabel, and Joe around mile 24. Although Isabel and Joe pushed on, Winston and I kept each other company through mile 29 before he went to catch up with his friends, and my best friend came back out on the course to find me.

By the time I reached mile 29, I knew that there was no way I was going to DNF this race. The finish was in sight, and I was going to give it every bit of my soul (and soles) to finish.

At 8:54:23, I crossed over the timing mats, completing The Huff 50K before the course cut-off & received my first ultra buckle. 😀

“Sometimes the journey has to be traveled alone in order to appreciate the strengths that lie deep inside of us.” – Steven Aitchison

SUMMARY:

I did it! I completely underestimated myself throughout this race, and it almost caused me to DNF. I need to better value myself and my capabilities. I need to understand that I am capable of so much more than I realize, and it truly is mind over matter.

I’m excited to see what next year brings. At this point, I’m signed up for The Mitten’s Challenge, North Country 50 miler (and half marathon the next day), and the Hennepin Hundred 100 miler.

Outside of that, I’m not sure what else I will be adding to my plate, but I know that I will be looking for at least a couple more 50Ks before my 50-miler to get a better feel for distances beyond the marathon and to prove to myself that I can do this!

This is my final race for 2015 & one helluva way to wrap up my Year of the Marathons! *I do reserve the right to change my mind & add another race before the end of the year, though! :P*

I am an ultra runner! 😀 *I hope that this sinks in within the next few months.*