Minnesota Voyageur 50 miler

I've been looking forward to this race for quite awhile, due to its enormous popularity.  It is one of oldest ultramarathons in the country, and seems to be highly rated by everyone who has ran it.  I haven't done a race in awhile where the trails were completely unknown to me, so I was excited to see a brand new course. I was also feeling a lot more prepared and strong than I did for Dances with Dirt. I didn't taper, but I wasn't feeling overly tired either. I kept my runs shorter all week and just viewed Voyageur as another 50 mile weekend :)

The weekend started with a speeding ticket going up to the race. Maybe going 25 over on the backroads wasn't the best plan. Most people know how I feel about cops, so I knew I wasn't going to get out of it. I did however, avoid getting arrested, so that was a plus. Once I saw the cop out of my sight, I went back to my 80mph speed and got there within reasonable time. Ate dinner and actually got a fair amount of sleep. I woke up feeling great and excited. I drank a protein shake and some cereal and arrived at the race early for registration.



The race started at a high school in Carlton, MN.  I met the race director, who I immediately loved. He was just such a friendly and nice guy, and it reminded me of the staff at Kettle Moraine. I also had met up with some Wisconsin runners who I had met at Kettle and the week before during a training run.  I enjoyed talking to them as that passed the time and the distractions didn't allow the nerves to really bother me.

 Before the race started, we were warned that another race was going on and even on the same course.  It was an obstacle course race (i immediately smiled) and we were not to go up the cargo nets or tunnels. I immediately knew that I was now going to get lost. A simple straight out and back course was what I was hoping for, but that is just not my luck.  As soon as the race started, I was off.. and way too fast. The first part of the race was a very technical 4 mile section right next to the waterfalls. I LOVED this part, as technical terrain is my favorite. However, I found myself getting stuck behind people and hard to pass. I was just loving the ability to fly when I could across the rocks and the jumps across streams. I was in immediate heaven with this part of the course.



We then reached the swinging bridge across the waterfalls and went to the horseback trails. I do not do well or do I like running in grass. However, I had met my first friend on the course and he kept me distracted with a hilarious conversation for the next 5 miles. We then started running on roads and paved bike trails, which treated me very well. I like running on roads, so my pace was able to maintain.  After this part, we reached another VERY technical part of the race. We were actually going through the streams, having to jump on rocks to get through water, and having pretty intense short climbs to get back on the terrain (some even included ropes to hold onto.  This part was unexpected for me. I did really enjoy it, but it did knock out a lot of energy in me.  

Once the technical part was over, we were then in an open meadow.. filled with constant climbs.  These climbs were very vertical and it was getting to be VERY hot. I told myself to slow down at this part when I saw the open exposure and climbs for miles ahead.  Once we were out of that section (and one hard fall tumbling down a climb) we were back into the woods.  I knew I was getting close to the turnaround when we hit the streets again and I was coming up on the obstacle course. The guy next to me did decide to do the cargo net climb, which of course, made me do the cargo net climb. (the workers at the obstacle course were very nice and hilarious). I reached the turnaround point in 4 hours, and I knew I was a little bit too ahead of schedule.



As I turned around, I was getting a lot of encouragement from the other runners, but I was found myself slowly having the wheels come off. I told myself that at the next aid station, I had to spend more than 20 seconds there and just refuel. When I approached the aid station (mile 30ish) I noticed that I was no longer hungry, and i just thought "here we go". I managed to stuff down a lot, and I mean A LOT of watermelon and heed, but I knew this wasn't going to be enough. The aid station worker was following me around with a clipboard, which made me laugh, because I didn't even stop at that aid station the time before.  "You are making me concerned, you have been here for 2 minutes"-aid worker. I told him he was relentless and that I was finally leaving. I felt good for the next 5 miles and found myself at my usual pace which surprised me. Looking at my splits, I was going about 8:05/7:49 during this section. I went through the next aid station, and that is when my stomach just completely went to hell.

I started getting passed, and I knew I had dropped down to about 5th place. I knew I had to stop to throw up, as much as I didn't want to break up the race. I could no longer run with my stomach feeling like 700 pounds and about to explode. I went off the trail and just threw up for about 3 minutes straight. I felt much better afterwards, however, I found myself back to the open section with the hills. I checked my watch and noticed it was 91 degrees and I had just lost a bunch of fluid.  Some of the climbs literally took my breath away, but luckily, I recover quickly and my heart rate would go back down immediately. When I reached the next aid station, I had caught up to a couple girls. I noticed one of the females and a couple of the guys were being asked questions like "Do you know where you are" "What is your name?". They asked me how I was feeling, and I honestly felt pretty ok considering. I was cleared to go, and i was back to the technical sections.

I checked into my pace and time and realized that I was now wayyy over schedule and that I would not make my goal.  There seemed to be a lot more climbs on the way back, and the heat and stomach issues were becoming a major factor.  Once I realized this, my mind went on full attack mode. I was so just mentally defeated which probably slowed my pace down even more. I reached another aid station, and noticed that they had a porta potty a little off course. I ran to it, and sat down for the first time during the race. Everything instantly went to black, which made me get up immediately. (I did NOT want to be one of the runners found in a porta potty by the sweepers). I noticed I was very clammy and shaky as well and couldn't really focus on any thought. I was a little scared, but my stomach was so bad that I couldn't even eat watermelon anymore. I was forcing myself to drink more, but it would just slosh around in my stomach which made me want to vomit again.


I had about 6 miles left in the race and I was just so over it. I didn't care anymore. And I hated that I didn't care. The sun was royally defeating me and there was nothing I could do about it. I kept putting one foot in front of the other though, and just kept moving forward. This was really the only solution I had to just get this over with. I finally reached the last aid station, which had the most cheerful crews and workers ever. They said no one was eating the food and feeling exactly how I was, but I was only 3 miles away and in top standings. This made me feel a little better, and I picked up my pace a bit to go across the bridge and back by the waterfalls. The technical section was now royally beating my ass, and i just remembered to be patient and in control. I finally got to the finish line and saw that the RD was running along side all the finishers. Seeing him, just made me feel so relieved and happy.  I thought that was the coolest thing ever that he was doing that for the runners. I received a plate for being a top ten finisher and also received some first aid workers to make sure I wasn't going to pass out. Once I sat for awhile, i was able to chug down about 2 gallons of lemonade and crawl to my car :)

This race did teach me many things.  It was my first time running this type of distance in hot temperatures, and I realized that preparation is very important. Running some of the paces I was running, was not safe or realistic with this weather.  I did however, love how easy the technical terrain have been getting for me. It's been really fun to just be able to play around with it and finally put speedwork into it.  I am proud of myself for finishing, but have been upset with myself for letting my head win in certain parts. I obviously have some mental grit issues to work out before Sawtooth, and am really going to focus on the "little things" in August, to be fully prepared for the next big race--Sawtooth 100.



Results:
Overall time: 10:31
Overall: 61
Overall female: 8th
Overall female age group: 4th.

Dances With Dirt 50 Miler

"The Training Race"

I was very excited to experience this course, as running at Devil's Lake for training has always been a "treat" for me. I love the views and the single track terrain.  However, it is a very popular spot in the summer time, so runs are usually interrupted with weird looks from hikers.

I was feeling very sick and tired all week. I was having a random stomach bug that I couldn't shake. I decided not to taper, and I woke up on Friday morning just feeling like complete crap. My brother Dylan and best friend Melissa signed up to run an aid station at the race, so we all left that night to stay close to the race. I decided to eat more than I usually do, just because of all the stomach issues I was having during that week. I also knew that I was in for some non stop climbs, and that was a very small chance that I was going to be able to handle solid food during the race. I slept great and woke up feeling more refreshed than I did all week.

I was so distracted before the race with getting all the little stuff taken care of, which was great because I was having a hard time "focusing" on what I wanted to do that day. I had absolutely no plan, and I decided just to go with whatever. As soon as we were off, my mind switched gears immediately. I was ready to run.

I went off way faster than I had planned, but I thought "why not?". It was one of the races where I just wanted to test out different ways of running. The technical, single track parts were treating me very well, and with new shoes (Grit3) I was flying over the rocks. After about 18 miles in, I went through my brother's aid station.  I decided to just go through it, as I knew I was going to back to it at the turnaround.  When I came back to him, I knew I had to fuel up. The only thing I was able to hold down was twizzlers and held my nose drinking gatorade.  Every time I put fuel in my stomach, it went to instant hell. My pace slowed down tremendously and I kept almost throwing up everything I was eating. I decided to take a chance and stop worrying about fuel.  My mind was so focused on the fact that I had been sick, and I just had to regroup and tell myself that I was fine. When I changed my thinking, I started getting back into the game.

I reached the half way point, and spent a little longer than I wanted to at this station.  However, I was really enjoying the pack of runners who I was with for most of the race. We were all trying to focus on the fact that we had to do another lap and just laughing from all the misery that came with that thought.  I took off before them, as I knew I would be passed soon.  I couldn't get my pace back to par when I had stopped for that long, so I knew it was going to take a couple miles to get back to that. The advil finally hit, and I was off again when I reached the bluffs. I was still ahead of the main pack of runners I was able to stick with, until I realized that I hadn't seen a trail sign for about 10 minutes.  I realized this when I noticed the bluffs had a considerable amount of climbing this second round, and I hadn't seen the guys in awhile. I realized I was off course, and got a little pissed off. (Huge pet peeve... and biggest fear in races). I wanted to take a chance and just go straight up and get back on the course, but I knew my thinking was a little off and didn't know if that was the best decision. I turned back to all the climbs I just did, and finally got back on the course.

I FLEW down the bluffs, probably taking down a couple hikers. I was raging mad. I went through all the aid stations, including my brothers, and finally completed the second loop. The next 5 miles were quite entertaining. I spent 3 miles at a 8 min pace and two miles at a 13 minute pace. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do or what flow I wanted, but I didn't care either. I was going with the surges and then going with the burnouts. I was ready to be done.

I reached the finish line, only to be told that the 50 miles still had to go up and down a huge skill hill and loop around again for 5 more miles. (My watch had died, and with my extra mile or two, I had no idea what exact mile I was at). My brother came and cheered me on during this whole time. The hill was just incredibly soul crushing. Once you started going downhill, all of a sudden it would go back up.  The best part of the race was actually getting to fly down that hill and cross the finish line at a crazy speed.

I finished this race feeling pretty exhausted physically, emotionally, and mentally. It was the first time I actually had in my head to drop to a 50K, but I knew I would never actually do it.  But the thought was so appealing, thank God I'm so stubborn.  My brother being there at the end, made me realize how much I really do love this.  Sometimes, I can get wrapped up on just dying to see the finish line during the end of my races, that I forget to actually just to enjoy the run.  I finished the race pretty happy and smiling, and talked with the other runners for a couple hours afterwards.  I had a great day, and enjoyed conquering the mental shit storm for 10 hours. :)

Overall time: 10:01

Place:
3rd overall Women,
2nd in age group women
3rd in age group overall
18th overall