US 50 Mile Trail Championships

My road to the 2013 US 50 Mile Trail Championships was as bumpy as the New England roads I train on in the winter.  To start, the race is in early March, in Texas; so I would have to attempt to train hard enough, through the snow, to run an early season 50 miler, in a location that is much hotter than I’m used to.  However, I wanted my shot at racing a US Championship, and had high hopes of a strong result.  A week before the race, I strained my hamstring muscle – and suddenly even being able to start the race was in question.

I did everything I could to tip the odds in my favor – seeing a sports injury specialist, cross-training (hours on a trainer or erg instead of running), stretching, icing, foam rolling; and as of Friday I was cleared to try to run.  So on Saturday morning I tentatively pinned on my race number, applied body glide to a few locations, and lined up for the start of the US Championships.  Considering my injury, I expected that either my hamstring was healed and I would be able to compete, or that my hamstring wasn’t healed, and I would be forced to DNF early in the race.

(Sunrise on the windmill, marking the high point of the course)

I eased into the race, falling in to step with fellow-Inov8 runner Scott Dunlap.  We passed the early headlamp running together, and enjoyed the sunrise from a hillside in mid-Texas.  After about an hour, he cruised away from me, but with my leg still feeling ok, I was ecstatic – I opened up my stride and felt optimistic that I could compete.  I enjoyed the views as we got high on the rolling hills, and cruised down the first big downhill, really leaning into the downhill.  Big mistake – just as I was feeling comfortable and confident, the downhill at mile 7 cause the all-to-familiar tug on the back of my leg…my hamstring wasn’t fully healed.  I stopped, stretched, and shuffled down the rest of the hill – trying to minimize the pain and not cause further damage.  I found after another mile or two, the pain subsided enough that I could continue along – but the hamstring would yell out anytime I opened up the stride.  ‘Ok’, I thought, ‘I can at least shuffle along and finish this lap’.  I enjoyed the rest of the lap, taking in the views, in case I couldn’t continue on.  With about a mile to go before I finished the lap, I caught my toe on a rock, forcing my other leg to extend forward and catch my momentum – causing a sharp pain in the already tender hamstring.  I decided that couldn’t happen again, so I shortened the stride and took my time through the technical trails, making sure my toes were up.

(Wobbly, bouncy bridge that I swore would break my hamstring!)

 

As I finished the first (of three) laps, the legs felt ok enough to continue shuffling with my modified short-stride, so I decided to at least see the section of trail I had run under headlamp – might as well see the views from the entire course.  The trails were beautiful – reminded me of running at the Seven Sisters or the White Mountains but with cactus instead of pine trees– as my friend described it, it was as if ‘someone threw up rocks all over the trails’, and I love that type of running!  However with that type of terrain, I was sure glad I was wearing my Roclite 268s (with their grip for the technical running, but cushioning for the rock-hard landings), and my Drymax Lite Trail Running socks (that kept my feet happy, and kept the dirt out!).  The lap switched back and forth around several hills in the area, so you were never more than a mile away from the finish line, and you could often see amazing views to the next hillside.  However, with hamstring acting up, I wasn’t able to enjoy the technical trails as I typically do – I knew that any catch of the toe could end my race.  At about 20 miles into the race, a fellow racer caught up to me as I shuffled down the same downhill that tweaked the hamstring on the first lap, and we quickly became friends as we discussed races we’ve done and goals for the day.  I was explaining to him how frustrating it was to watch folks pass me on the downhills and technical section but that I was limited to what I could do if I wanted to finish, and one more toe catch might be the end of my race.  No sooner said, I caught my toe, and nearly face planted – instinctively catching myself with the injured leg – and I felt shooting pain up the back of the leg.  My day might just be over.  I slowed way down, shuffled, stretched, and planned to drop out at the next aid station only a mile ahead, with about 25 miles completed.

(Example of the rocky trails)

 

As I got to the aid station, and was about to tell the volunteer that I was dropping, another racer at the aid station looked at me and said ‘are you Amy?  I used to live in Greenfield’ (which is about 10 minutes away from my house).  I was so surprised to meet someone from my side of the country that I joined him out of the aid station – chatting about Vermont 100, which he completed this past summer, and about the joys of winter training in New England.  Without realizing it, his actions saved my race.  I left him after a few miles, but at that time I was at the last aid station of the lap – less than 3 miles by the course to the finish line, so I decided to finish the lap.

(Rocky section just before the finish)

As I lapped through the start/finish, I thought about how humbling it was to have folks pass me as I shuffled and limped down the trail, and I thought about how stupid it was to be on the cusp of injury but still considering completing my last 16.7 mile lap.  However, a quick refuel, and I figured that since I was in Texas, I might as well finish the race – come hell or hobbling. 

(Motivational posters were everywhere along the course)

 

As so, with my pride in check, I kept on moving – hoping that at least my mental strength would get some training.  It got hot out under the Texas sun.  The views weren’t that amazing the 3rd time around.  I climbs were longer on the last lap – and my only motivation for moving was to think ‘the faster we run, the faster we’re done’ (a phrase often said during the WMDP workouts).  I caught up to a few struggling runners, who were obviously hurting if I caught them with my hobbly run, and I tried to motivate them to stay strong and finish quickly.

(A sight for sore...legs)

 

Crossing the finish line was a mix of emotions – I had finished the US Championships, and even with my injury I had mustered a 7th place finish (not far off my original pre-season goal).  Considering my injured hamstring, my goals quickly turned to a mindset of ‘to finish is to win’, so I should be pleased to complete 50 miles.  However, dreams die hard, and I will still be unhappy with my performance – knowing it’s not indicative of my training and fitness.  I certainly had hoped to represent Inov8, Gu, Drymax, and WMDP much better.  I might have to return in 2014 to avenge my finish – and have a race that I know I’m capable of. 

Fueling:
- Had LunaBar 1 hour, and banana ½ hour before we started.
- Consumed 7 gels (before start, 0.75 hours, 1.5 hours, 2.25 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5.5 hours, 7 hours) –  about 700 calories [vanilla bean, just plain, and espresso love gus]
- Consumed salt tabs at 2 per hour (except for the first hour, when I took 1)
- Consumed 7 water bottles of energy drink (2 per lap in first two laps, 3 on last lap) – about 1050 calories [raspberry gu brew for first lap and mid-lap water bottles, roctane grape on 2nd and 3rd lap bottle]
- Consumed 2 dixie cups of water at each aid station (22 total cups) – 550 calories
Net total – about 2,300 calories and 260 oz fluid

CRASH-Bs – A new experience

This winter, for a bit of cross training, I decided to sign up to take an indoor rowing course.  The classes meet for 8 weeks, 3 times per week – so I’m averaging about 3 hours on an erg each week.  Other than a few times in college, when I’d be thrown into a boat simply because I was an athletic female, I’ve never rowed…and I had no idea what I was missing. 

I’m sometimes fearful to try new things, because I know I don’t always pick up on new techniques fast and it’s hard when you’re really behind everyone else.  I knew that most folks signing up for this class would be folks who are active rowers in the summer months, looking to stay in shape…and I would instead be someone who wanted another form of training in the winter.  Luckily, my training partner, Laura, was teaching the course, and I convinced two other running buddies, Meghan and Steph, to join me for this process.  Initially, we all thought that rowing was an upper body sport, and were pleasantly surprised to learn how much leg strength it took – so we all learned pretty quickly.

Anyway, somewhere in the process of learning to erg, Laura convinced me that I should race at CRASH-Bs, which is the World Indoor Rowing Championships, held in Boston each year.  I don’t know much about it, but I guess it’s a way to give the elites and national team members from around the world a racing goal to focus on during the long cold stationary winter months.  It’s a 2k erg – meaning a really short race...so as an outdoor-loving, endurance runner who really shines in 4-6 hour efforts and has no upper body strength, it would be completely out of my element to do a sub-8 minute indoor rowing competition.

So, fast-forward through 6 weeks of erging class, and I was headed to Boston with Meghan to compete in the World Indoor Rowing Championships.  Laura had prepared me well but I certainly knew I would be easily out-classed by rowers, and even athletic females with upper body strength.  I was grateful to have Meghan there with me to be nervous with and share in the confusion.  We almost didn’t make it to the race (first Meghan slept through her alarm, then we hit a snowstorm during our drive), so that cut down our time to cut weight if needed – and I found myself weighing in over the cut-off for the lightweight division just as we got there, with no time to sweat myself down…a major bummer.  But, I had to put it in perspective that I am doing this for fun, and shouldn’t stress out about this competition.

Since Laura is injured, she volunteered to be my coxswain – basically be my motivator through my race.  Having paced me for the last 23 miles of Vermont 100 last year as well as through numerous tough workouts, she knows how to get me going and how hard to push me.  It was also nice to have her calming force near me as I stepped out into the arena for my race.  I was in the first row of ergs – having submitted the 12^th fastest qualifying time, and was terrified to see that I was surrounded by folks in rowing outfits and bulging bicep muscles.

Before I knew it, we were off…and I got so caught up in the moment that I pulled super hard for the first 250m and was in the lead!  I was so focused that I didn’t hear my name over the loud speaker – but I did hear ‘Holyoke Rows’ (the team I was signed up under) over the loud speaker, so I knew I was being announced. 

(Me, with Laura cheering me on in the background)

 

As soon as I heard that announcement, I started to settle in and my pace dropped off.  I slowly was caught by 2^nd place, then 3^rd place, as I settled into 4^th place.  By the mid-point of the race I was just behind 3^rd place, but fading fast as my splits kept going up.  I was paying for my quick opening clip – but being a new rower we didn’t know what to expect so Laura just let me go and hoped I could hold on.  Luckily, Laura’s motivation helped me pull away from 5^th place, even if 3^rd place wasn’t catch-able for me after the half-way point. 

Over the last 500m the crowd got loud and the cox next to me was yelling ‘pull, reach’ at a cadence that I fell into.  I know my pace suffered a bit as I matched the pace of the next boat, but I couldn’t fight the rhythm (and Laura couldn’t yell loud enough to drown that noise out).

(The look of astonishment right after I finished, notice how excited Laura is!)

I ended up finishing in 4^th place (pre-race ranking for me was 12^th place), and finishing in 7:48 (pre-qualifying time was 7:51) so I was pleased to have exceeded my expectations and finished better than my qualifier.  Unfortunately, not being a true lightweight I was taken out of those results and put into the heavyweight category – where I finished 13^th.  I know I could get a better time if I started out a bit more conservative, but that would come with experience.  And, I know I’m on the bubble for lightweight, but if I return I’d have to remember to cut weight over the week or two before the competition.

 All in all, it was an awesome experience!  Meghan did well, and we both were exposed to a world that we didn’t really know.  It was fun to see folks so passionate about rowing, and amazing to hear as folks broke world records throughout the day.  I am proud of myself for not freaking out about my weight – and just accepting that I shouldn’t stress about this race no matter what happened.  It was also great to hear that folks were chatting with Laura after my race to see who I was and if I’d be rowing this summer – and to know that she got all the credit for coaching me, which she truly deserves. 

I’m hopeful that Laura will get me (along with Meghan and Steph) in a boat this summer, now that we know what we’re doing a bit!  Until then, the snow is melting away a bit, and it’s almost trail running season!

Craftsbury Ski Marathon – A long ski with my sister

In 2011, I completed my first ski marathon at Craftsbury…skiing side-by-side with my sister Jenny.  It was quite the calamity, with sub-zero temperatures, poor waxing, and one of my boots breaking during the race.  Oh, and there wasn’t much snow to train on that winter before the race, and the course was changed to a 4-lap course around a loop that was pretty icy. 

So, this year my sister and I decided to once again sign up to ski together.  This was aimed at being a fun long ski together, not a competition, so we signed up for the ‘recreational wave’.  Brian was supposed to ski with us, but he unfortunately got the flu the week leading up to the race, so he stayed home.  With a lack of snow this winter, neither of us had much training – so this was shaping up to be similar to our 2011 experience. 

Fortunately, Jenny’s in-laws live close to Craftsbury, so I not only had crash space, but I got to hang out with Jenny a bit, and see my nephew Calvin also.  Upon my arrival, the first order of business was waxing my skis to avoid that difficulty from 2011.  It was likely going to be similar conditions as 2011, with an icy course, and near-zero temperatures. 

Jenny and I put on the final layers of waxed and tried to stay warm as we watched the competitive heats go off.  By the time I stripped down to my ‘race outfit’, which was still a ski jacket and ski pants, I was instantly chilled.  Jenny pushed the pace a bit out of the start, to be sure we weren’t caught up behind unstable skiers.  The loop started off with about 4k of rolling downhill, so I was frozen immediately and started to get grumpy and nauseous, and struggled to keep up with her.  It took me until 7 or 8k into the first lap before I could finally feel my hands and my toes were starting to thaw out.  At that time, finally I was chatty and Jenny and I started to really enjoy the day.

We were lapped by the lead man early in our race, so throughout the first loop we had guys flying by us most of the time.  But, we skied next to each other as best we could, lapping the junior skiers who started 10 minutes ahead of us.  After our first lap, the tracks cleared up a bit as the juniors were finished and Jenny and I could ski together…it felt just like when we used to train together in high school, so we were both having a blast.  The lead female passed us 7 or 8k into our second lap, so I knew we were skiing strong even though this was a social event for both of us.

During our 3^rd lap, during a 2-way section on the trail, I found the only other person I knew out there, Joe Holland, another local ultra runner, and we both let out a cheer.  A few kilometers later, Joe (who I’ve shared many miles with during ultras) flew by us with a comment about ‘how I was skiing pretty well for a runner’…and I yelled to him that he runs well for a skier, as he zoomed out of sight.  It lifted my spirits to see someone else from my happy place of trail running.  And before we knew it, Jenny and I were passing through the start/finish, and heading out for our last lap.

Now, not having skied much this winter, the aches and pains were starting to become apparent.  My back was a bit stiff, and my elbows felt like they had tendonitis.  But, Joe was waiting in the lap zone and skied the first few kilometers of the loop with us – showing the support that us trail runners love to give each other.  Jenny and I both were feeling the distance, but I was pleased to not be slowing down.  I think that unofficially, we both just wanted to ski faster than we had 2 years ago, with almost identical conditions.  Although we weren’t competing then, nor were we now, we were competing against ourselves, and it felt great to finish and glance at my watch – seeing that we had finished about 20 minutes faster.  That’s a testament to being in better overall shape (due to lifting and rowing this winter), but it still felt great to finish faster. 

All in all, it was a wonderful day.  Craftsbury Outdoor Center somehow made amazing conditions out of almost no snow…it was impressive to ski along clean snow with deep, well-set tracks – I almost forgot that there wasn’t any snow anywhere else.  It was also great to have a sister that I can share long epic adventures with, I am so blessed to have an active and outdoorsy family.  I was pleased that my endurance held up and that I had a wonderful day of skiing.

Fueling:

- had breakfast before the ski, banana about 1/2 before we started
- 4 gels (at 12.5k, 19k, 25k, 37.5k) - about 400 calories
- 5 cups of energy drink (at 12.5k, 19k, 25k, 32k, 37.5k) - about 500 calories
Net total - 900 calories and 5 cups fluids.