{Chester Woods 50k Race Report}

Posted in Race Reports by sneaksandstilettos

Friday evening I headed to Rochester ~~dreading~~ feeling very uncertain about the 50k race the next day. I didn’t feel prepared because I’d found a lack of motivation and fresh legs since running the Wisconsin Marathon five weeks earlier and the Med City Half Marathon two weeks earlier. The end of the school year had me tired and stressed, too. When I got to packet pick-up I was disappointed to find out they had packed up early. I had arrived fifteen minutes before the end time, but left without my packet. Next stop-the nearest grocery store for some breakfast items and snacks. The nearest option was not my favorite…Wal-Mart. I learned some great parenting tips for future use by the woman who yelled at her screaming kids “I told you all to shut your f8#$ing mouths.” Awesome work, Mom!

Snacks the night before.

From Wal-Mart I headed to my hotel. The hotel turned my frustration around a bit as I had a room on the second floor right by an exit where I was able to park my car three feet from the door. Then it was time lay out my race gear and have a snack and some hydration before bed. As I snacked away watching It’s Complicated (love that movie) I was going back and forth between the live feed of the WIAA State Track and Field meet checking in on some former students of mine (they rocked their events) and reviewing the 50k course for the first time. I didn’t have much time though as my alarm was set for 4:45 a.m. Yippy skippy!

The alarm went off at 4:45 a.m., and since I figured I’d be running for 5.5-6 hours I knew I needed to eat more than on a regular race day. I ate a bagel with cream cheese and a banana, dressed and got on the road. The race was only minutes away from my hotel and located at Chester Woods Park.

Upon arriving I didn’t have the five dollars to enter as I wasn’t aware of the entry fee, but they were friendly enough to let me in and pay after the race (thank you, thank you) which I did. Karma people.

After grabbing my race bib and chip I had time to run to the rest room and get my gear on. I was running with my fuel belt. Each bottle was filled with Grape Nuun. I had four Gu’s in the pocket of my fuel belt. My plan was to fuel for this race just like a marathon. If I was getting hungry or the Gu’s were not enough I came prepared with Auntie Anne’s Cheddar Bunnies, a granola bar, a Snickers bar, a Bearded Brothers Bar and a Kind Bar. Why so much? I wanted to have what sounded good when I was twenty-some miles in. And there really is no way to predict what would sound good so I came prepared.

I knew the course was a three loop mix of terrains, but hadn’t really spent a ton of time researching the course. The first few miles took us through a meadow like area. Meadows are my least favorite to run on because the ground is uneven and grass can hide this. Later in the day the sun also shines bright in an open meadow. Lucky for us that the biggest section of meadow was early on. Thank you race director! We then headed on a gravel road that led to a wood chip trail and then a packed dirt and grass trail. The woods were so beautiful.

After running through the woods we ran through a small meadow section before entering into my favorite wooded section of the course. The canopy of trees engulfed the trail and it was like you were running into this other world.

After the woods we headed out to another meadow section that included a sandy hill before heading back into the woods. Half of it is below. My hill strategy was to walk hills that were longer than ten feet. Most runners were walking hills to preserve their legs, too. In the words of a man on the course “I surrender to the hills.” Being a new trail runner I didn’t need to run a chain of mountains; these hills were enough but doable at the same time.

Loop 3-Mile 23-The smile hides the sharp pain in my hip flexors.

Next up on the loop was the Big Dam Hill. It ended at a beautiful overlook of the Chester Woods Lake reservoir. I loved how it was significant enough to have a name and everyone who ran the race before knew about the hill.

Still climbing the Big Dam Hill-almost to the top.

Most climbs are worth a view. This one didn’t disappoint either. I didn’t want to stop to take a quality picture so I’m borrowing one. Credit: http://www.rochestercvb.org. After the views of the lake from above we descended through a meadow to a small paved section of trail that joined a gravel and then dirt trail and ran along the lake.

This view of the lake was gorgeous. All kinds of trees stood out of the water. It was a lake of trees.

From there we turned to repeat the loop two more time minus the first meadow section. The first loop was 12 miles and the second and third loops were 9.5 miles for a total of 31 miles. My Garmin registered a little short as I must have lost a half mile while in the woods at some points in the race.

During the first loop I felt good. I was not in a fantastic mood, but it turned around as my body warmed up. The second loop felt much faster and I was feeling great, too. Last Friday I traded a ten mile run for a 30 mile bike ride, Tuesday I ran almost six miles and I skipped my Thursday and Friday runs my training plan called for. I just didn’t feel like running. Most of my runs have been rough with dead leg feeling appearing during most my runs. I just wasn’t feeling fresh. I debated running Thursday and instead chose a night out with friends. Saturday’s second loop proved to me I’d made the right choice. My legs just needed some rest. At mile 20 I remember saying to myself that I couldn’t believe how good I felt both for being at mile 20 and in general. I felt great.

At this point I was out of Gu’s having taken one at miles 5, 10, 14, and 18. I also didn’t want to waste time going to my car to get food as I stopped at the bathroom after the first and second loop losing four minutes or so from my time. I decided to grab food at aid stations since they had quite a selection. I grabbed Fig Newton’s and some pretzels from the friendly aid station volunteers when I was feeling low on fuel. Mention water and they grabbed your water bottle and happily filled it. They were so encouraging and helpful. Thanks volunteers!

As lots of you probably have experienced, runs can take a turn for the worst at any mile. My feeling great changed soon after mile 20. Around mile 22 my hip flexors started to scream at me. Lifting my legs felt hard. My actual legs were feeling strong and alive. I seriously questioned if I was going to have to walk the rest of the course. This is where you start to run the race with your heart. I pushed through and felt tears coming around mile 26, but was able to pull myself together. I don’t even know where the tears came from. It wasn’t from pain, it was more of an emotional response to running for a long time alone in the woods. It was theraputic.

Around mile 27 the pain in my hip flexors all but disappeared. As I climbed the last sandy hill another guy told me “I was like a ninja.” That boosted my morale for a while. The last few miles I felt pretty good. I did a lot of self-talking and encouraging myself. I actually felt like I could run further than 31 miles. By mile 30 though I just wanted to be done. I’d been running for over five hours. My longest marathon time is 4:20 and my longest trail run had been 16 miles a few weeks earlier. I couldn’t wait for that finish line.

When I did cross the finish line the feeling I remember more than tired or sore is proud. I was proud of myself for not only running 31 miles, but for also running on trails and with hills. As my first 50k I say it was a success and went much better than expected. This just proves we can do anything we set our minds out to do.

I loved the course at Chester Woods Park. The three loops was perfect for runners so they could restock items at their cars if they wanted. The course was a perfect combination of beautiful views, shaded woods and a little bit of meadows. I also loved the mix of terrains and that the hills were doable. I’m not ready to run mountains-yet? Or ever? During my last loop of the 50k I thought about my husband’s feelings about running another marathon (he’s saying one and done) and if I felt the same about a 50k or further. As of right now that is to be decided. I always say never say never.

The shoes and I went through some real shit out there-literally and figuratively. Some of the trails we ran were horse trails. Those horses had been there before us runners had. 😉

Chester Woods 50k
Time: 5:25:32
Pace: 10:30
Overall: 36/91
Gender: 7/33
Age Group: 4/15

1Feb2014

{Wisconsin Marathon Training-Week 5/Fueling for Your Training}

Posted in Wisconsin Marathon Training by sneaksandstilettos

Monday-3 miles on the treadmill

It was too cold for outside running today. The weather channel’s choice of background is slightly deceptive. True-the sun may have been shining, but at temperatures this cold it is quite unnoticed. Regardless of the temperatures staying hydrated is always important. One of my favorite ways to get myself to drink more water is to add fruit to water to add some flavor. My favorite-simple lemons in water. Ryan takes his water straight up.

Tuesday-6 miles on the treadmill

This was a rough run for me. I actually wavered between throwing my iPhone against the nearby wall and bursting into tears. I kept it together (barely) but had to walk .75 miles to regain my composure. Treadmill runs do little for my mental health during the run-that comes later. Ryan on the other hand, rocked his miles out like the devoted-training-for-his-first-marathon guy he is.

Wednesday-6 miles outside (!) and Ryan lifted

This run was a cold one with chilly winds blowing and gusting, but it was a chance to get outdoors. It was an ok run, but not one that made you love running. It made you more love running when you were done.

Thursday-Danced it up in my cowboy boots for several hours

Friday-Ryan lifted after work and I skied it up on a school field trip

Saturday-12 mile long run outside
Saturday’s long run was the warmest day we had this week. The temperature was 18 degrees with no windchill. That is right no windchill. As a result, there was no chance of us running inside today. The windchill was slightly misleading as the wind certainly had a chill, but running in the fresh air on open road was so refreshing.

That is bare road folks…the first run of the winter that had more than a few open blocks.

Half way through our run we were feeling great. We swung by the house for a drink and were back on the road. I thought about taking a GU, but didn’t really feel hungry and I usually prefer not to take GU’s on runs of 13 miles or less. Ryan was sticking with the same plan. When I first started marathon training, I needed more calories to finish my runs and learned the hard way what calories worked for me. I don’t believe in set rules for all. We each have different bodies and will, therefore, require different foods and drinks for fuel. I am not a dietician, nutritionist, or certified anything when it comes to fueling needs of runners. I simply have ran and found what worked through my own experiences. Below are some of my personal findings with eating on the run or preparing to run.

During my first marathon training cycle, I started getting stomach cramps that would last hours after long runs. Sometimes they started during runs after taking in some form of fuel. I felt trapped; I needed to eat or I would be starving, low on energy, and unable to finish my long runs, but I was feeling sick from what I was eating.

Learning what foods you can eat and can’t eat on long runs requires some experimenting. There is no way to know for sure until you try things out. I remember it being a frustrating time. You are hungry, need fuel to accomplish quality runs, but know you are going to feel sick later. Ugh! You can try not fueling, but you will bonk and runs will feel way worse than they need to. Try no to get frustrated if this is happening to you. We all learn by doing.

After far too many stomachaches post-long runs, I started to do some research. I bought the book, Performance Nutrition for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald, and learned so much about fueling my body for running. If you’ve had issues with fueling I strongly recommend you purchase this book. He breaks fueling for running down into easy to follow ideas that you can take home to your kitchen and use on the run.

I learned that so called sports bars and drinks that had lots of sugar were giving me my stomach cramps and really were not designed for runners. I swapped out sugary Gatorade for G2 and felt some improvement. I later switched G2 for Ultima Replenisher which has no sugars, artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners that were easier on my stomach. I also ditched the Snickers Marathon bars and Power Bars for GU’s and simple granola bars that were easier for my stomach to digest. Some of the experimenting was simply getting used to digesting foods while on the run. I can now eat more real foods than ever before because my body has learned to fuel my muscles and supply blood to my stomach at the same time (in moderation). When it comes to fueling the body for running, eating real food for meals and snacks leading up to runs is almost always the most filling, easiest digested, and the best for you. Since this post is already getting long, I’ve made a separate post for those of you who have asked me questions about fueling for long-runs-Fueling for the Long Run

As for Saturday’s run and fueling, our run continued to go well however around mile nine the damp, cold air started to chill the muscles and joints. Around mile ten we both got hungry. The next couple miles were a little challenging being hungry and having cold set in. The last mile home we talked only of which Bearded Brothers flavor we would eat and the Nuun flavor we would drink when we got home. Definitely should have at least brought a couple GU’s along just in case. Other than the hunger and cold, we both felt great on our longest run of our training plan thus far.

12 miles is Ryan’s longest training run ever. He has ran four half marathons, but never ran training runs longer than 10 or 11 miles. We are unconcerned by pace right now as winter always causes slower times and greater perceived effort.

Bearded Brothers is a new favorite bar of ours. Bearded Brothers bars are 100% natural with organic ingredients, vegan, gluten free, soy free AND taste delicious. Plus, they come in compostable packaging.

I am not always a huge bar person, but sometimes they are perfect for a pre-run snack or post-run snack. I love that Bearded Brothers offers a healthy and natural snack. I usually prefer to eat a meal 1.5 hours before a longer run. I can eat a smaller meal or snack minutes before leaving for a run. This training cycle we are both trying to eat healthier and not use our miles run and hard burned. In the beginning of my marathon training I often rewarded myself with treats and candy after long runs. After running more miles and marathons, I felt the need to do that less and less. I’m trying to continue on the healthy eating path as it really does make me feel better on a regular basis and I think I run better, too.

Ryan agrees with the feeling better when we eat better, and we are both looking to get in better shape. After our long run Saturday and Bearded Brothers snack we roasted up some chicken and veggies for dinner. I’d eaten most of my veggies when I thought to take this picture. We did enjoy some frozen yogurt later in the evening as we were hungry again.

Balancing the hunger you can experience with marathon training and eating healthy can be a challenge. Making sure to fuel properly in advance of a long run and during a long run can prevent post-run pig out sessions. I also follow the rule that I only eat when I’m hungry. I’ve never been a snack just to snack person. I truly eat when I’m hungry and don’t when I’m not. Sometimes this gets me in trouble like on Wednesday when I didn’t feel hungry at lunch. I was then starving on my run on Wednesday.

Ryan’s Tip of the Week-As runs start to get longer, break the miles up into smaller sections to give yourself a better mental approach to the distance. This week I looked at the 12 miles, my longest training run yet, as a six mile loop and then an out and back six miles (3 out, 3 back). This approach mentally broke up the run making the distance seem much less mentally challenging.

Sarah’s Tip of the Week-Make sure to listen to your body and provide it appropriate hydration and fuel as your runs get longer. Rather than get frustrated if you bonk or have a rough time fueling, think of it as part of the training process. You are not just training your mind and legs to go the distance, but your entire body to travel many miles. Check out my fueling for the long run post tomorrow for more details-How to Fuel for the Long Run.

Total Miles-27 miles