Where The Wild Things Run, Surf, Race... and Party!!

Again, it’s been too long.

Hard to believe how quickly the weeks are flying by. We had an early taste of winter, then a fabulous few weeks of autumn, Thanksgiving is almost upon us... and then it will be Christmas! I love Christmas. It is without doubt my favourite holiday. I love Christmas trees, lights, decorations, presents (especially the presents) and of course, the food. I love traveling home for Christmas. I love the buzz. At airports, around town, pretty much everywhere you go. I love the complete insanity of last minute Christmas shopping. It’s a ridiculously commercialized, over-hyped holiday. And I love it.

Meanwhile, there’s been some running, some racing, some volunteering... and some partying. I will start at the end since I might never get there if I don’t. I am actually sitting on a flight to Miami as I type this and will upload it later. It’s no wonder time is flying by given the amount of travel lately. This is another work trip but I can’t complain – packing only shorts and t-shirts for my running gear – how bad??

Party

The party of course was the UMTR Awards Fest last Saturday evening. What a fun time we had! Needless to say I was thrilled to receive, er, a few awards. Two I knew about, the other was a genuine surprise. I’m not humble, or shy, or unassuming in any way – but I honestly continue to be a little in awe of all that I have achieved in the past few years. That probably sounds the complete opposite of what I intend but basically I am just thrilled to bits to be able to run and race as I have. I still pinch myself some days out on the trail – is this really me? Am I actually “a runner”? Winning stuff? Course records? And having the time of my life while doing it...

Speaking of course records – I think I set one this morning for running (in 2 inch heels) from the security area to gate G17. Ohmigod... I thought I was doing ok for time – until I saw the line for security. I’d been upgraded which usually means a short line but not at 9AM this morning. 20 minutes later I’m sort of getting close... but its less than 20 minutes until the flight departs. My boss was on the flight so I text him and he asked the agent how much time I had... 9 minutes... by the time I got through security and grabbed my stuff I had 3 minutes... I legged it! Turned the corner to G17 just as the airline agent had gone through and let the door close behind her. I thought no way she’s letting me on. But I raced over and knocked, okay pounded, on the door – she was at the end of the jetway and turned around – and, phew, came back to open the door for me! I was very thankful. I then proceeded to cough incessantly for the first ten minutes of the flight – I’m sure the guy beside me was wondering what he was going to catch!

I digress. The party – great collection of people as at any trail runner gathering! All the usual suspects, though a few couldn’t make it. And a few new faces whose names are familiar from races this year. Lots of people brought their partners and families and of course it was a very social occasion with everyone mingling throughout the evening. Though I still managed not to speak to some people I meant to including Kel and Londell - sorry about that! Some official business whereby Zach and other were elected to the board for 2010. Well, actually for 3 years I think – congrats Zach ;) Then of course there was the food. Wow. I could not help myself. I must have had at least 10 servings of desert. Who made that blueberry cheesecake? It was phenomenal. And Karen’s cake – that deserved an award all by itself! And of course there was Matt's homebrew... without which a trail running party is not complete.

Jason Husveth gave a very insightful and entertaining talk on his work and the ecosystems in our region. Clearly a very accomplished ecologist, Jason has made some serious finds including several rare plant species. Bryan Cochran got the slideshow going, a few hiccups but it continued to run while people socialized some more. And in between all of this the awards for the MN Trail Series and the Fab Five Fifties were presented. Kate and Steve doing the honors for their respective series. Including the one Steve gave himself which was quite funny. I was sitting beside Carl who assured me that Steve’s point system is indeed accurate – he should know as he maintains it - though I’m still not convinced! The announcement that Chippewa Moraine 50K will be the Championship race in the ultra series next year. I didn’t catch which one for the MN series. Jim McDonnell introduced the 1st annual Braveheart Snowshoe Series - check out the UMTR website for more details. I, for one, plan to snowshoe a lot more this winter! Then later some more awards. Daryl Saari received a very fun Wynn Davis’ original for his Gnarly Bandit accomplishment (several 100M/K distances). I have no doubt the large framed personalized cartoon superhero poster will hang proudly in the Saari household! Next up was Trail Person of the Year which went to a very deserving recipient – Wayne has had a great year of running, finishing his first 50M at Surf – but beyond that was one of the volunteers that cleared trail after the ice storm hit the SHT in May, volunteered at several other races – Voyageur is the one I remember most as he gave me a great boost at the last AS telling me John was just ahead (I know Wayne, I wasn’t supposed to tell – but Thanks again!), and then helped an injured runner at Superior thereby forgoing his own race. Now that’s someone you want to share the trail with! And then Trail Runner of the Year - Bonnie was doing the honors here and before long it became apparent she was talking about yours truly. All I’ll say is I’m honored and feel incredibly lucky to be a part of a fantastic community. Both Wayne and I also proudly received a piece of Wynn’s artwork - definite conversation starters!

You see what I mean by Original Artwork! Thanks Wynn for your hard work on all of the awards. And thanks Karen for taking the photo :)

Race

With getting back into running after the shin injury I was building up the miles throughout October. Then along came the BSC 6K – this is the only race of Corporate Fitness Series that is for BSC employees only (others include well known 5 and 10K races around the cities – HeartBeat, Autumn Woods Classic etc). I had run it in 2006 and again last year, setting a CR each time, but definitely wasn’t feeling up for another one this year after a 20 miler at Murphy two days earlier. But, I laced up the bright orange racing flats that I haven’t worn since a half marathon in May and we took off around Rice Lake (Maple Grove). First mile was around 6:10 and each subsequent one a little slower – but with a nice downhill finish I managed to hang on and finish in 23:38 (6:21 pace) – 1st F and I think 7th overall. There are a few speedy guys at work – I think the winning time was around 19:40. I took almost a minute off last years time so was well pleased with that. Though funnily enough I did this thing I often do in races that I plan to run every year – as I’m entering the last half mile and knowing I’m likely to finish faster than I have in the past I think to myself – maybe I shouldn’t push it quite so hard – it will just make the time to beat even harder next year!!

The next race for me is Hellgate 100K in mid-December. I am super excited about this race. Much more my cup of tea than a 6K race! Training pretty hard for it right now though I know I should be doing hill repeats. I shall have to get myself to the ski hill at Hyland next week...

Surf

Halloween saw the second year of the Surf the Murph races in Murphy-Hanrehan Park in Savage. If you have not run at this park yet please get there soon – it is an awesome park so close to the metro area. I didn’t pay too much attention to this race last year as I knew I wouldn’t be able to run it and I didn’t know too many others who were. But this year I decided to respond to Cindy’s email looking for volunteers. My motivation was not entirely philanthropic. I wanted to make sure I would not sign up to run it to allow myself plenty of time to recover from my planned 100 mile race (Angeles Crest 100). As it turned out, AC-100 didn’t happen (forest fires) but a shin injury did (overuse). When AC-100 was cancelled I’d signed up for the North Face 50M in Madison the week before Surf but then with the injury it proved to be too soon to race that distance. I thought briefly about rescinding my volunteer duties and jumping in the 50K at Surf but honestly I’d had so much fun at the aid station at Wild Duluth that I decided instead to continue to get in some good training for Hellgate and channel my energies towards a fun AS for the runners.

And boy was it fun?! The Halloween theme was easy, the menu prep a little more challenging for me who is not so used to the kitchen. Note to self – check the oven next time before turning it on to 375F. The poor frying pan that had been resting easily on the shelf for God knows how many months was a little dried out when I discovered it as I was putting the banana bread in. The pumpkin soup took a few practice runs that week – not helped by my blender falling apart mid-way through the first batch. I didn’t get to taste any of the pumpkin pie but if anyone is wondering what the ‘secret ingredient’ was – onions! It was meant to be another batch of soup until I discovered that can was pie mix and not puree. Can? What, the soup wasn’t prepared from scratch? And to make matters worse I actually had a conversation with one of the runners about roasting pumpkins. My justification for that particular white lie is that I didn’t want to disappoint him and have him leave the AS all depressed.

It really was a fun day. Les and Cindy and all of the volunteers put on a great event. Fun to see Maynard at the start, caught up with Sean Faulk who I’d met at Superior (and who is off to Japan this month to run a marathon!), and had a chance to chat with many other training and racing friends throughout the day. And I got to hang out with Christie who worked the AS for several hours – she is new to trail running so I thought it was very cool that she would volunteer at a race to see what it’s all about. The 50 milers came through the AS 3 times, the 50K twice and the marathon and 25K runners once. Pretty soon I had no idea who was running what race but it was fun to see the same faces over again! Spotting the lead runners was easy though – Duke had an awesome run in the 50M finishing in just under 7:30 – despite taking a spill just before coming through on lap 3. Bonnie and Don were at the AS at the time and how cool that Duke took the time to say hello (and clean up!) even though he was clearly on his way to setting a high standard for the inaugural year of this distance. Valeria had a nice win for the women as she and Eric ran together for the day. Both experienced a few issues but finished strong. It was Val’s birthday so we had a card and cupcakes at the AS to celebrate! Brian P had an awesome run in the 50K lowering the CR significantly. Leslie Semler won for the women to cap off a great year. I don’t know Leslie but had intended to seek her out on Saturday night but got distracted... that blueberry cheesecake! The marathon field was the smallest one but take nothing away from female winner Lisa Trainor who at 50 continues to set standards. I want to be just like her when I grow up. I’m not familiar with most of the other names or the 25K runners – except for Carrie who did great to finish her first 25K not long after her first half-marathon race. And a huge shout-out to Justin Barton, Maria & Doug’s son, who at 13, finished his first 25K!

All in all, a fun day on the trails with 4 races, ~150 runners, gorgeous October weather... and more Halloween candy consumed than I care to remember.

Wild

Similar to Surf, I signed up to volunteer at this race months ago. It would be exactly 4 weeks after AC-100 and knowing that running TCM last year after Sawtooth was a bad idea I figured a chilled out weekend up north would be more in order than a race. It was a blast. From start to finish. I took the Friday off work, ran with the guys at Hyland that morning and then arrived up at Bayfront Park a little before midday just as the trail markers were being organized. We set off to mark various sections, Andy and I taking the southern most ones. Right from the outset at Chambers Grove, where the 50K would start and the 100K would turnaround, I knew that Andy and Kim had designed an awesome course. The first hill was a killer as many enthusiastic 50K’ers would discover the following morning. The course wound its way through some neat singletrack, along ridges and soon onto the SHT. Earlier in the summer, Holly and I had run the subsequent sections from Grand Portage through Munger Trail (where our AS would be) and up Ely’s Peak. We split up the marking to make the most of the time and got it all covered except for a short section close to Bardon’s Peak area which I marked the following morning. Got back to the Bayfront Area and before long it was starting to get dark. As I am writing this I think I covered much of the remainder in an earlier post... and the stewardess just told me to put my laptop away. Suffice it to say that Wild Duluth is a race you should run next year! The course is awesome and the fact that Duluth is so accessible for many in the MN/WI region makes it all the more appealing. The weather certainly helped this year but I think even in colder or wetter conditions it would still be beautiful. I had such a fun day – and night – sweeping the course with Jeff and Pat was a blast. Hearing stories of their running careers and beyond, all the while running new trail by headlamp, with the city of Duluth lit up beneath us.

I cannot wait to get back up there – and as it happens I don’t have to... roll on Friday night!! I’ll send out an email to the dead runners list in case anyone else would like to join in the fun.

Ok, the laptop has to go. Apparently there’s a space shuttle taking off somewhere around us in ten minutes and I happen to be on the right side of the plane to see the action!!

P.S. Online again at hotel. The launch didn't happen (on time) - but the green-blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean made up for it. Glorious. I love the sea. Almost as much as Christmas.

Time...

It's time I posted something but I have no time. Or more specifically work is gone a little crazy again and I am trying to get as much sleep as possible (to prove myself wrong that I do need more than 6hrs sleep - I am not sure about that one yet) so blog posting/reading time is limited. Definitely time I wrote up something about the Wild Duluth races as it was a fantastic weekend up there - and a great race to volunteer at. For the RD's perspective check out Andy's race report on the website.

Back running high-ish mileage and feeling good - I know that I should probably be getting more rest and recovery but while the weather is this good I am getting out as much as possible...

No more races until Hellgate (well, apart from the BSC 6K around Rice Lake - out the back door from work - on Nov 6th - where I need to defend my title!!). Lots of early morning runs in the dark to get used to night running and will have to throw in a midnight run at some point - the "Hell" in Hellgate partly refers to the midnight start... as well as the deep stream crossing a few miles in, the bitter cold wind (remember the frozen eye-ball reports from a few years back??), and the fun climbs... Am I looking forward to this race? You bet.

But first, volunteering at Surf the Murph - AS food requests by Thursday please!!

Getting back to it...

I should probably wait until after the weekend to write this post but I'm going with the optimistic approach.

Running a few miles here and there last week while in Ireland felt pretty good (not least because of the lovely autumn weather. Yes, autumn/fall, not winter!). Then Monday night I went out around the lakes for 7M. Everything feels good when running but when I get done and massage my shin there is definitely some residual 'stuff' in there and I get some tingling and mild fascia burn when I rub deep.

So, my plan is to run a few more 7-8 milers this week and then Sunday morning, after volunteering at Wild Duluth on Saturday, I'm planning to run ~2hrs on the SHT heading south from Duluth. It's a fab section of trail around Spirit Mountain.

And that run will likely dictate the rest of my season. For sure I am not running NF Madison but I did sign up for Hellgate 100K. This is a race I really really want to do. I signed up last year and had to cancel due to that shin injury. So I'd be pretty bummed to have a repeat of that. On the other hand I have no intention of running with an injury (ha, I say that like the throught would never enter my head) so if Sunday's long run tells me the shin is not healed I'll be backing off for the rest of the season and quite possibly taking on a different focus - hot yoga teacher training. The course is being offered starting the weekend after this so I need to decide next week. I am definitely interested and even though it's not cheap I would consider it a good investment. But it's quite time intensive (3hrs Fri/Sat/Sun through mid-Dec as well as min 3 classes per week) and between work and travel through end of year it might not be possible in any case. It would also mean missing Hellgate so that's why it's sort of "either or".

So, if the running goes well over the next week I'll stick with plans for the race and build up to a few 20/30+ milers in Nov. And plan on the yoga course next winter (usually offered once a year). If not, and schedule allows, I'll take on a new challenge...

Looking forward to seeing some of you up north this weekend. Should be a beautiful run. Perhaps not the fall colours run people were thinking of but the course should be in great condition and it looks like Saturday will be a bit warmer than this week.

In absentia

Is it good or bad that without running I don't have much to blog about?!

In Ireland this week for work. And fun. Had a lovely weekend catching up with family - and meeting baby Sean, my nephew. He is too cute. Full of smiles and laughter these days. 3 months and changing every day.

I ran 1 mile Sunday on grass, barefoot, felt great. No pain. Then last night I ran 4M on the roads. It felt great being out there - my lungs were really enjoying it. My shin felt a bit off during the first mile. Not painful just not 100%. But the next few miles were good. I iced it when I got done as there is definitely still some residual inflammation there. Hard to tell what's going on with it or when it will eventually go. When I woke up this morning it felt fine but again not 100%. No pain flexing it which is an improvement over a few days ago.

I don't know if I should keep running this week or just leave it. But it's killing me considering the nice mild weather here. And I just love running when I'm back in Galway or Sligo. Reminds me of all the training for my first marathon 5 years ago. When it was all so new to me!

Anyway, I guess work might dictate what I have time for this week. And then when that is wrapped up it's time for more socalising. And wedding dress shopping with my sister - very exciting - she just got engaged a few weeks ago so the timing of this trip worked out nicely!

Accepting it!

After several PT sessions since the marathon and endless rounds of ice massage, no running, just in the pool and yoga classes since Saturday... there is still relatively intense pain deep in the muscle (anterior tibialis) when I flex my foot back. So, I emailed the Grindstone RD today to withdraw from the race. I am in San Francisco for the week with work and have been thinking nonstop about how much I love running and what a pity it is I cannot be outside early in the morning running through parts of this city I won't have a chance to otherwise experience. Bringing back memories of the marathon I ran here in 2005. And enjoying the start of fall running.

And the more I thought about it I realizied that even if I could make it through Grindstone it would hurt and would likely put me out for another several weeks if not months. And no race is worth that. Well, maybe some races are but not this one, not right now.

On the upside it means I can leave for Ireland a few days early and spend some time with the family and my baby nephew. And celebrate with my (other) sister who recently got engaged. And with a bit of luck be able to start running again while I'm over there.

And if that goes ok I'm still signed up for the NF 50 miler in Madison Oct 24 so I have to believe there's a good chance I'll be back in action to get in some training for that. It might not be as good a race as I'd hoped for but I've never ran on that section of the Ice Age Trail so that alone will be cool.

No regrets. Moose Mountain was a blast.

Superior Trail Races 2009 - Crewing, Pacing and Racing!

All in a days work. Or two days in this case. Though it felt more like one really long day. I guess that’s what happens when only a few hours sleep separates them. I am not sure if it was the 40oz of coffee that morning, topped up with several diet cokes and I don’t want to know how many gummi bears, but I was buzzing about all day Friday and had an absolute blast hanging out at the Aid Stations watching everyone come through, helping Eric and several others runners – some of whom I knew and some who I would get to know throughout the day. In retrospect I just hope that I was actually a help and not a hindrance – I know there are times when I am racing that I just want people to leave me alone and stop asking me what they can do for me. But maybe I am just a crabby runner…!

This is going to be more of a ‘trip report’ than a ‘race report’ given that I had no intention of doing any racing myself. And probably a pretty long, meandering one at that…

The long weekend started off with an excursion to Taylor’s Falls with my workmates. Yes, another team building event! And this one I was fully committed to attending given that we’d be canoeing on the lovely St. Croix. And it meant that I had a slightly shorter journey up to Two Harbors that night. I arrived up there just as people were leaving the race briefing. Chatted to a few folks – including Pierre who was brandishing bright yellow roller skis – surprisingly he didn’t arrive to the starting line with them Friday morning! Perhaps they’ll make an appearance at Arrowhead. Caught up with Eric who I’d be crewing for the next day in his first 100 mile attempt and then headed up the road to the very comfortable Grand Superior Lodge where I’d also stayed the night before last year’s race. Eric’s foray into ultrarunning is a bit like my own… start running with a (road) marathon training group and throw in a few trail runs, then the ‘short’ race at Trail Mix, which sets you up for a ‘less short’ race later that year and before you know it you’ve signed up for your first 50 miler. And there’s only one place to go after that. Well, many places really but one step at a time!

Day 1

We were down at Gooseberry Falls soon after 7am. It was great to see so many familiar faces milling about as I took some pictures and chatted with everyone I knew. Caught up with Jen Pierce and figured we’d be spending much of the day together as Zach was planning about the same pace as Eric. Erik Dalgaard who I’ve known from my early days with the run club at Plymouth Lifetime was also running his first 100 and I was excited to see how it would go for him. We ran the marathon up here together back in 2006 and had such a laugh doing it though I recall quite clearly at the finish line thinking the 50 milers were nuts not to mention the 100 milers. Who’d have thought we’d both be among them within a few short years!

Larry spoke a few words and then everyone moved to the ‘start line’ and off they went among great cheers. 70 brave souls. Warm and humid already at 8am. More coffee and a few more mini muffins (the start of quite an incredible day of feasting) and Jen and I headed towards AS 1. Not that we should have been headed there really with the ‘no crew access’ but we designated ourselves the official race photographers (me - the amateur - and Jen - the pro). After hiking several minutes in the wrong direction we turned around and eventually found the AS well before and runners were expected through. The first to appear wasn’t someone I recognized (the “guy from Pennsylvania” – and eventual winner). Nor the second (the “Belgian guy”). But then Chris Hanson and Kevin Grabowski came along and soon a string of familiar faces including Adam and Matt, and soon after Eric, Zach and Erik. Pretty brief stops at this AS. Snapped a few more shots and then we were off to Beaver Bay. Now this was much more comfy spectating – out came the camp chairs – a second breakfast of granola bar and banana – and general good fun chatting with Amy, Lana, Kurt and Carrie, and many others hanging out in the now hot sunshine. Beautiful day for spectating alright. Not so much for running 100 miles. It was evident that many runners were already feeling the heat and this before hitting mile 20. Some had run out of water long before the AS and this would catch up with them later in the day. The runners came through in pretty much the same order. I had Eric’s Perpetum handheld ready to go, refilled his Nathan and he was off. Erik came though soon after. Meanwhile I caught sight of a Happy Trails shirt and figured it had to be a Virginia runner – and sure enough it was Gary Knipling whose name I recognized – this seriously energetic 65 year old would finish in a solid 32 hours to take 8th place overall! I’ll be seeing him at the Grindstone start line in a few weeks time.

Next stop Silver Bay. Caught up with a few others here including Holly K would be running the 50 the next day. I have to admit I was a little jealous of the runners at this point - watching them leave this AS for my favourite section of the course, with fun technical trail and amazing views overlooking Bean and Bear Lake. The sun was still hot and ice was the most sought after commodity here. The runners were getting more spread out by now and we had missed the top guys go through but for the most part people were looking good. More photos and water bottle filling. I went out the trail a bit with Eric and later with Erik and each time when hiking/running I was pleased that my shin felt good. I’d had a few PT sessions that week and figured it should be ok for a night’s pacing. Met Scott Myers' parents here – it was their first ultra experience and unfortunately not Scott’s best one. Still, he was incredibly good humored at every AS and we had a good laugh at Co. Rd 6 as he plotted how to fool his parents into thinking he was feeling great upon arrival at Finland knowing they’d be there.

Onto Tettagouche. Without our camp chairs. We arrived here well ahead of the guys but given that it was now late afternoon a lot of the 50 mile and marathon runners on their way up to Lutsen tend to stop off here so the place was buzzing. Alicia and Kate were running the AS. And Valeria, Brian and John, and many others were hanging out. It’s a pretty tight junction so everyone was in a close group cheering the runners as they came out of the woods. Some longer stops here to get sufficient food. Helped with a few foot repair jobs and two speed workouts down the trail to the car – the second to get my headlamp for Erik as I realized he couldn’t make it to Co. Rd. 6 before dark. Eric had already gone through and was looking great so I wasn’t at all worried that he wouldn’t make it. Earlier I had chatted to Wouter (the Belgian – though really he must be French or at least definitely related to Pierre) while he took a break to get some calories in. I noticed he’d been sitting a bit longer at each AS but seemed quite happy with how things were going. Funny guy – by now we all knew his story of running Cascade Crest 100 two weeks earlier (taking 4th place in 21 hours), Amtrack to Grand Forks and biked across to Gooseberry Falls! So it was no wonder he was feeling a little tired…

Jen and I made our way back to Silver Bay to pick up our chairs. Though it took me two trips to actually pick mine up. I didn’t think it was possible to get ultra brain just from crewing. Had gas station pizza and coffee for dinner. Lunch had been a smorgasbord of granola bars and gummi bears. And a banana just to feel healthy. While at the gas station Jen undertook the fun task of washing icky socks as she thought Zach might be running low – the humidity was giving him blisters early on (only to later find several spare pairs!). And I got my camera battery charged. And then onto Co. Rd. 6 where I was looking forward to catching up with Tom and Nancy. We parked up in the gravel pit, got our stuff together and headed down the road – to be greeted by the smell of grilled cheese sandwiches! I knew I’d be here a while so held off for now… Busied myself with a few runners coming through. Another foot repair job on Craig – borrowing moleskin from Sean Faulk who had decided to drop here. That was too bad as he was running strong earlier but like many others maybe not cautious enough in the heat. I knew Sean’s name from several race results (the correct spelling of the name sticks with me!) but had never met him before. But I have a feeling we’ll be seeing him at Hyland soon! Though it will be a while before I make it back there… but more on that later.

It was probably close to 7pm when we got to this AS and I was expecting to see Eric come through pretty soon. He’d been somewhere around 30-32hr pace through the first few AS and though I knew leaving Tettagouche he was probably on the upper end of that he seemed to be in good form and getting enough water and nutrition despite having run out of water at least once earlier in the day. The time passed quickly at the AS between chatting to Tom and Nancy and helping a few runners. Before I knew it the sun was fading and I was wondering if maybe I should go out the trail with my headlamp. I had on my Keens but figured I wouldn’t be going too far. Just as I was thinking of heading off Mike Henze (FANS 24hr superstar) who was crewing for Richard Chrz said he was going to do the same - even though I think he knew Richard had a headlamp he figured there might be others without one. So we headed off down the road and into the woods. I quickly realized that whatever light was left in the sky it was much darker in the woods. There is a pretty steep climb up from the road and then some up and down. It’s a pretty rocky section and overall I would rate the 9 miles from Tettagouche as the toughest section of Sawtooth. Thinking about this didn’t help. I had reassured Eric that he had loads of time to make it before dark. We started to meet a runner every few minutes and I was hoping each head-lit body would be closely followed by Eric but then we met Zach and he said that Eric had hit a rough patch not too far out of Tettagouche and was having stomach issues. Crap. Soon after we met Richard so Mike turned around with him. I figured we’d gone about somewhere between a mile and a mile and a half at this stage. I was mostly fast hiking and running a little. Shin felt good but my feet were getting a little sweaty in the Keens! Then I came across Pierre and Erik – who thought Eric might possibly have turned back to Tettagouche. What to do?! I continued on and I think only a few minutes later met Ryan who told me Eric wasn’t too far back and he’d very kindly given him a second light. Yes! Sure enough we soon met up. Probably a bit over 2 miles to make it back to Co. Rd. 6. Eric hadn’t been able to eat at all that whole section and had hardly drank anything either. He was feeling pretty rough and well off where he'd wanted to be so I knew he may be thinking about calling it quits at the AS. We agreed not to make any decisions until he got there and got some food into him. We hiked pretty slow but kept moving along and made our way down the rocky terrain and back onto the road sometime after 9pm. At the AS Eric knew he needed to eat but had no appetite for anything. I started on my first grilled cheese and got him to eat some of it which actually went down okay. He was drinking a little as well but by now the night was setting in and out here along the road it was pretty chilly. Several others had come through - some, including Jason who was looking strong and enjoying one (or two) grilled cheeses - continuing on, and others not. Bodhan, still smiling but no longer in his red polka dots, decided he'd had enough fun for one day. I went up to the car for some more supplies and ran into Laura who'd just driven up from the cities and had been at the AS when Erik has come through, and was heading for Finland. By thetime I got back to the AS, Larry had come along and Don was here also ‘gently’ coaxing Eric to get his ass out of the chair. It was quite comical – there was a guy from Iowa whose name escapes me that was also on the verge of dropping and Don was basically working his way over and back between the two guys. In between all of this Eric was telling me he was going to wrap it up here and we could get some sleep and then I could run the next morning. At this point I believe the 50 miler was on the cards. We even joked about him running the marathon. Yes, definitely some ultra brain setting in. It was getting close to 10:30PM now and I knew we needed to move if we were going. I hadn’t realized until talking to Mike Henze earlier that I could pace from this AS (allowed after 6PM) so I had changed into my running shoes upon getting back to the car but kept my long track pants on as I figured we’d be hiking more than running. Eric was pretty cold and shaking quite a bit despite a few blankets around him. I wasn’t sure how much to try to push him to get going but I could tell he was thinking that 50 would be better that 40-something. Got a bit more food and drink – I made it to three grilled cheese – equaling Jason’s record I believe! Bonnie kindly offered to drive the truck to Finland. And after a few final words of encouragement from Don – who in fairness told Eric to go down the trail a few hundred yards and if he felt awful turn around and no one would try to argue – though as I write that now perhaps the truck would have been already gone :) Anyway, it worked and Eric was on his feet… and even the guy from Iowa decided to come with us. Success! We left sometime after 10:30PM and sure enough were soon warmed up and hiking a good steady pace. About a mile in there is a campsite and there was a group out along the trail cheering for us which was a nice surprise. Further along we came across Andy the friendly hiker who we sent back the trail to Iowa runner – we plotted a pretty reasonable (at the time) story about Andy being a pissed off ultra runner who’d been timed out by Larry last year and was back to take revenge on the runners making it through the cut-offs this year. Iowa guy zoomed past us a few minutes later. Either Andy was a super motivator or a really annoying kid. But not an axe murderer.

We kept up a good pace all the way to Finland arriving around 1:30AM. Eric was in good form and his stomach was coming back. The rice burritos being served up here were going down well. But I could tell he had pretty much decided he was done. After some more debate – with Don working solely on Eric now as Iowa guy had decided to call it a night immediately upon arrival - I said I would go put on my shorts and we’d get going again. But it was not to be. Eric was glad to have done the 50 but I think the combination of a still dehydrated body, the late hour and knowing that tomorrow would be another hot day made a nice comfy bed at Caribou Highlands seem all the more appealing. A good achievement for anyone on the day that it was. The others who would arrive after us all decided to drop and through the night the aid stations would see people come by foot and leave by car. We’ve been complaining about the summer being too cool here but no one was expecting high 70’s to hit the northshore for the weekend. Add to that the intense humidity on the mostly heavily forested trail and you get a 50% finish rate.

It was after 2AM when we were leaving Finland and close to 3 getting back to Lutsen. Not that I remember much of the drive but thankfully the road was quiet! There had been talk of the morning races on and off but given that I needed about a week to digest the contents of my stomach, not to mention that my shin had started to bother me on the hike to Finland, I figured it was a fun idea but not a very smart one. I set my alarm for 6:30AM.

Day 2

It can’t be 6:30AM already? It isn’t. Some people coming in downstairs. Back to sleep. It can't be...? It isn't. Shelly’s alarm going off at 5:15. Back to sleep. Sort of. It's 6:30. Will I or won’t I? I get up. Lean over the balcony and see Matt sleeping downstairs. He’s half awake and tells me he came 2nd in the 100K (Adam taking first). I tell him I’m going to run the marathon. He says something incoherent or at least something I didn't want to hear. I shower, get dressed, realize I look like I’m pregnant with twins. I call Eric. At first he thinks I say I’m not running and tells me that’s a good idea as it looks like another humid day out there. I clarify my intention and he says it’s still a good idea. I drive over to the lodge, see Holly and Chae, pick up Eric and we set off for Cramer Rd. Via the Coho Café which thankfully opens at 7AM on a Saturday. Large coffee. Food? God no. Well, ok I’ll have a croissant. The coffee perks me up no end and by the time we turn onto Cook County Rd 1 - I decide my goal will be 4:20 and perhaps that will be enough to win and possibly be a course record. I knew Kim Holak had run 4:24 last year or the year before but I didn’t know if that was the record.

We get to race start about 7:30AM. I fill my water bottle, add a nuun tab, and stuff 2 gels in the carrier pocket and a baggie of S-caps and nuun tabs in my shorts pocket. I tell Eric in the unlikely event that he doesn’t want to sleep for the rest of the morning and might find himself at Oberg in about 3 hours time that I would really love to see him there. And if he had a can of red bull in his hand that would be even better. I get myself signed up. Good thing Larry was there to verify my free entry as the checkbook was the last thing on my mind that morning. Larry gives me the scoop on the 100 milers' progress – Chris Hanson was closing in on first place at one point through the night or early morning. Kevin Grabowski was holding steady in third. I chat to lots of people including Anne F who was talking to Shelly at the time. Anne asked if we knew each other. No, but we slept together last night. I spot Edan from Thunder Bay who is originally from Dublin and has not lost his accent one bit. We met up here back in 2006. I recognize the girl with him who turns out to be Nicola and I knew she had won this race previously. I see Wynn and figure there’ll be a record attempt in the men’s division also. I toddle off into the woods for a few minutes and realize I will have some fun digesting those grilled cheese sandwiches over the next few hours. I warm up by running a few short out and backs along the gravel road. My shin hurts. I ignore it. I am stupid. I love racing.

It’s time to line up. I see Kim Holak and think I should have stayed in bed. She tells me she decided to sign up the day before and I tell her I decided an hour ago.

Larry sets us free. Wynn bolts off and another guy goes with him. Edan and Nicola and another guy are ahead and then Kim. I decide to tag along behind Kim. WTF am I thinking? I know I can’t keep up with this lady. I am breathing hard within 200 yards. I realize it is mostly my stomach demanding attention and that I will be taxing my system a little more than usual today. A loop around to get the marathon distance and we are back across Cramer Road and soon onto the single track. I realize I have not have been on this section of trail since Sawtooth 12 months ago. And that was in the dark. I love it. We are running fast and dancing across the roots. Edan and Nicola are a little ahead and Kim is right in front of me until she stops to get a gel down and lets me by. Soon we are all running along in a line. There is some climbing and I am impressed by now easy Nicola makes it look. I know that she could jog up Mystery Mountain and make it look graceful. But I notice she is not carrying a water bottle and think that might be a mistake on a day like this. I am out of water by the time we arrive at Temperance AS. 1:11 on the clock. I didn’t know exactly how many miles we’d covered but figure it was over 7 so I was happy with that (7.9). No time wasted here as I have the bottle open, nuun tab added, fill it, 2 cups of coke, and I am off. Alicia is there with a quizzical look – she has been up all night except for a few hours sleep on a picnic bench at Finland! As I’m running by I tell her about Eric. Into the woods again for a few minutes before the trail hits Temperance River. It is beautiful along here. Some fun rocky sections. I left the AS ahead of the others and proceed through the grassy section, across the river and a good part of the way up the gravel path with no one behind me. Then Edan appears and soon Nicola and another, new guy. We pass Vishal from Chicago along here. It had been fun seeing his crew at the AS throughout Friday. We had passed Eva in the first section. She was moving well and would finish first female in just under 31 hours. And then sleep in her car that night before driving back to New Jersey. And no doubt still be smiling when she arrived back east. I tell Nicola to go ahead as we start climbing. I remembered how this had felt just after sunrise 12 months ago. On that occasion no part of my body wanted to run but I had given myself an hour to get up Carlton and 45 minutes to get to Sawbill. And I had gotten close to that. Today I figured I should make it in half the time. As we started to descend Nicola lets me by and we hammer it down the back side and then along the flat section, across the road and along the boardwalks – where I almost end my day – and into Sawbill AS. 2:03 on the clock. Sweet. Again, I wasn’t sure of the exact mileage but I figured at least half way (13.6). And I knew the next section would be kinder. I refilled, grabbed a gel and left the AS ahead of the others. I had not seen Kim since Temperance but figured she would not be far behind. I’d taken the two gels I had with me just before the two AS so I planned to carry this one until almost Oberg and then take another one for the final section. As soon as we hit the trail I started to run pretty hard. From the start of the race my shin hurt with every step. Not shooting pains just a consistent ache. Though it was better when I landed more on my forefoot so it didn’t bother me as much in this section where I could increase my cadence and run smoother. Not quite Chris Gardner smooth though I told myself that’s exactly how I was running. I decided if I got passed in this section that I would drop at Oberg. I don’t know that I would have or not. I wanted to win. I wanted to break the course record. And if I wasn’t going to do that I figured there was no point in making my shin worse. Makes sense right? OK. So I didn’t care about the shin. I just wanted to win. I like winning. But of course I wouldn’t have dropped…

10 miles to go. Too soon to be thinking about winning. Just keep moving at this pace. The guy behind me was keeping pace and that really helped. Turned out to be Ryan who was running his first trail marathon. His parents were at the finish line and I told them it wouldn’t be his last and that next he would be running 50 milers and then… they didn’t want to hear any more! My stomach was not bothering me particularly other than my abs were getting a serious workout holding it all together. But I knew I needed a potty break. I was also trying to remember the end of this section from last year. I knew that Teresa and Pam had hiked back out to meet me so I was looking for landmarks. Soon enough I saw the junction where they’d met me. I remembered Pam telling me it wasn’t far. Then I remembered how I’d been annoyed (sorry Pam) because it was far. But was that just 100 mile far or really actually far? It was really actually far. Over a mile for sure. We crossed the wooden bridge and then onto the ski trails. Some winding around here and I knew it was at least a half mile so I ducked off the trail and into the woods. Ryan flew by shouting “nice pace”. It took a bit longer than desired but I felt so much better. I arrived into Oberg AS and there was Eric with my red bull. Yeaay!!! It was down in seconds. Water bottle refilled and I was on my way again. Eric said the guy had just left. I was more concerned with the ladies behind me. I started to ask how Erik and others were doing but he told me to get going! I passed Pat Susnik and Nicholas Olson as I was getting on the trail. I was clearly full of energy after my red bull and made the mistake of cheerfully asking them how they were doing and telling them they looked great. They didn’t look great. They didn’t feel great. They said something about running 95 miles. Probably along the lines of “How the hell do you think we feel?” They would probably have appreciated it more if I told them they looked like shit.

A quick wave to Oberg Mountain – we had to do this loop the first time I ran the marathon in 2005. Larry’s add-on at the start is much more sensible. And considerably easier. Which of course makes no sense at all when you think about it. And then onto Moose Mountain. This came much quicker than I was expecting. I guess I was moving well. I was convinced Nicola would catch me on either this climb or the next one. So, after another potty break, I kept moving as fast as I could and started to run immediately after hitting the top. Nice flat section through the woods here and then a mix of up and down and before I knew it I was approaching the switchbacks on Mystery Mountain. Ah, the fond memories I recalled. Not. This final section had taken me 1:50 last year. Yes, I remember these things. 1:20 was my goal today. It was getting close to an hour. Damn I had forgotten to pick up a gel in my red bull-induced excitement. Nothing for it now. I saw Kevin up ahead and he was running. I figured if a 100 miler was running these switchbacks then I certainly could. As I passed him he asked if there was anyone close behind - I told him about the guys leaving Oberg. I figured he would know that was a ways back but later he told me that got him worried and he moved faster in case they would catch him. They finished about 30 minutes after him. I knew I had to be close to the top. I also knew how many times I had thought that last year. A few trips out to view Lake Superior and then it was downhill. Oh yes baby. We are hammering this home. I saw Ryan up ahead and then a large group of hikers. They saw him of course but not me so I almost took one of them out as they turned around to carry on after Ryan had passed. As soon as I’d gone by I thought I should have asked one of them for water. I had been rationing myself to a mouthful every 5 minutes. I was almost out and dreaming of a huge glass of coke. Ryan let me by and I continued to descend at a good pace. Then finally that beautiful sound of Onion River, the open trail, the left turn, the bridge… at some point along this section I had decided 4:12 was possible. Time was ticking by. I was getting close. Up the hill and then onto the gravel road. But still some way to go. Past the ski lodges that you at first imagine to be Caribou Highlands. More flags up ahead. 4:10. And then across the grass and onto the trail by the lodge, around the pool, and HOME. 4:11:03. I told Larry it was harder than Lean Horse 50. I meant it.

Boy, was I one happy chick at the finish line. At least for about 30 seconds - until I realized just how badly my shin hurt. God how stupid was that? But how much fun. Three weeks until Grindstone. Plenty of time to recover. And hey, if I can do that for 26.2 miles on three ibuprofen I am sure it will all work out.

Eric, Guy (who’d had to drop from the 50 miler after he pulled his hamstring. Ouch.) and several others were at the finish line. I iced my leg and got some fluids into me. Then took a shower and got ready to head out to find Valeria, and Erik and Zach. We decided to hit Sawbill first where we caught Val flying through and smiling the whole time. Stan had just gone through ahead of her looking strong. They’d run together for some of the early sections. John Mass had also come through and a few hundred milers. It was fun seeing some of the same people as the day before. Well, not so much fun for them I suppose. The poor guy from Alabama (or Arkansas?) was much happier when we told him there was a 50 mile and marathon race – he was a bit concerned by the people flying by him! Laura was there waiting for Erik and had been at all of the AS through the night. She headed off out the trail to meet him. Zach arrived and was suffering pretty bad with his feet. He got them fixed up and Eric decided he’d do a bit more of the course and headed off towards Oberg with him. What a neat way to finish off the weekend’s events!

Steve Q was working this AS and gave us the low down on how strong Duke was running and we figured he’d surely win it which he did to set a new CR of 9:32. Brian P ran an awesome race to come in next having moved up through the leaders as the miles counted down. Next was the guy from Kansas and then Matt Howard who told me later that was the fastest time he would ever run that course as he wouldn’t be attempting it again! He did enjoy it but is looking forward to the much more runnable terrain at the Madison NF Challenge. After a stop at Oberg to catch Val again and for Jen to swap places with Eric and pace Zach to the finish – we made our way back to Lutsen to watch Stan finish 5th in his first 50 miler. Nice one. John Mass in 7th – another smart runner who ran his own race on his first attempt up here… and next Valeria in a fantastic 10:52 to take an hour and a half off her winning time from last year! Way to set the record.

We hung around for a bit and then headed down to the lake for an ice bath. Val and Eric got two picnic chairs and sat in the water while I settled for chilling just my lower legs. I think it helped but I proceeded to limp around for the evening. Back at the finish line we watched the 50 milers continue to come through interspersed with 100 milers. Erik finished his first hundred having run a very smart race taking it easy through the heat of the day on Friday and fast hiking many of the sections. Which works well when you have legs as long as Erik! Wouter finished with a smile on his face – he’d taken a break at Oberg when we were out there earlier and we’d gotten a good laugh when he said “I suppose, this would be a really stupid place to drop”. He went on to tell me about his next race in France in a few weeks time – just 90 miles that one. I tell you – related to Pierre. Soon after Zach and Jen came though looking happy but no doubt glad to be done – I am guessing it will take a while for the feet to look the same… Jenny M finished her first 50 smiling and many other familiar faces continued to cross the line. We headed indoors for dinner though I know my stomach would have been perfectly okay not seeing food until Monday. The two groups from Chicago were in the restaurant and between us all I think we livened up the place nicely. I am not sure if it was the few glasses of wine or the lack of sleep but everything sure seemed funnier than usual.

Back out to the finish line for more laughs. Karen Gall finished and was an absolute riot filling us in on her final hours on the trail. The rocks and logs miss her. Brad Birkholz came along sometime after midnight with a huge pack looking as if he was taking off on a long hike but apparently he was just heading over to the playground area to set up base camp. After several minutes of sleep deprived mindlessness discussing how Valeria and I would make excellent sherpas (being foreign, maybe even exotic, made up for being clueless about Little Debbie’s) we decided it was probably time to call it a night. I am writing this and wondering - did that whole scene even happen?

It was another amazing weekend on the trail. On THE trail. I am lucky to have run some awesome trails around the country - but there is nothing quite like the Superior Hiking Trail. Congrats to everyone who participated in the weekend’s events and thank you to the tireless volunteers at all of the AS and everywhere in between, and especially to Larry, Colleen and family.

If you were there this photo by Jen P requires no explanation. If you weren’t – the boys are simply wondering “Is he really going to run in those?” He did.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The Aftermath

I woke up Sunday morning in more pain than I have ever felt after a race. Of course it wasn’t the all over body pain the 100 milers were feeling but the intense shin pain had me wishing I felt the way I had 12 months ago instead. By the time we got back to the Twin Cities the whole muscle was very swollen. I iced it repeatedly that night and kept it elevated – while following IM Madison online tracking Pam (a.k.a Kona bound rock star!) and Tanya. I can walk quite okay on the ball of my foot but flexing it either direction at the ankle and putting much pressure on it is not good and even today after two PT sessions the muscle is still swollen. And in case you are wondering, fascia burn is as painful as it sounds.

Anyways, PT and no running (except in the pool, yawn) for a few weeks and I should be right as rain for Grindstone. Sounds like the perfect taper eh?