On Saturday October 22, 2016 I became an ultramarathoner!
I signed up for Surf the Murph 50k just 3 weeks prior to race day. I knew I wanted to run a 50k and had been putting in the miles, but wasn't following any sort of training plan. Although this would be my longest run to date, I went into it with a much more relaxed attitude then I have for any other race. The week leading up to the race I didn't even get my usual taper/pre-race anxiety & mood swings like I've had going into all my marathons. Maybe because I broke out in a terrible poison oak rash on Monday which occupied my mind instead!
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| my entire left forearm covered in poison oak rash! |
Friday night I ate spaghetti and a salad for dinner, packed my drop bag and got everything set out and organized for the morning. I was in bed just after 9:00 p.m. but didn't fall asleep right away. Once I did fall asleep I slept better than I usually do before a race. I had set 2 alarms for 4:00 a.m. but ended up waking up on my own at 3:30 and got out of bed at 3:45.
Travis came with me since it was my first ultra, but this would be the last race he plans on coming to. (I think I've heard this before, but this time I believe him!) We arrived at the start/packet pickup about 6:25 so I had just the right amount of time to get ready and not enough time to sit around and get nervous. This is a smaller race so even with 3 different distances (50 mile, 50k and 25k) there were no huge crowds or lines to deal with. It was a very laid back atmosphere which I loved.
Start time for the 50k was 7:00 so about 6:55 we all headed to the start area for a briefing and then it was time to go. It felt a little chilly, around 38 degrees, so I started with a fleece sweatshirt that I knew I would drop.
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| Just before starting |
Miles 1- 5.5: It was dark at the start so a headlamp was necessary and I started off easy because I didn't want to trip and fall. I began near the back of the pack then after the first half mile I settled in somewhere between the lead runners and the middle of the pack. The 1st Aid Station came quickly at about mile 2.9, I didn't need anything yet, but I couldn't wait to drop my sweatshirt here. I didn't see anyone else, except for one deer, for quite awhile until I neared the Horse Camp Aid Station. I had a drop bag at Horse Camp (which is mile 5.5, 13, 22.5 & 29.5) so I ditched my headlamp here since it was now full daylight. I topped off my water and was back on course.
Miles 5.5- 13: After Horse Camp it seemed to be pretty flat for a long time, these were my fastest miles of the day. During this stretch I started passing a few other runners along the way, including a woman running the 50 mile in full costume dressed as a witch! The next Aid Station was at mile 9.9 where I grabbed 1/4 banana and added some caffeinated Tailwind to my water bottle. I rolled into the Aid Station at Horse Camp at about 9:05 where I felt like I should eat something but nothing sounded good. I topped off my water bottle and grabbed 3 pretzels, which I had to choke down as they were way too dry to be eating on the run!
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| Around mile 12 photo by Cole Peyton |
Miles 13-17: Just past mile 13 there was a mud hole where I met up with another runner, Brian, and we ran together for a good 10 miles. We shared stories and had a nice chat which was a great distraction as the course was getting hilly again. Just before mile 17 we saw one of the race directors on the course who Brian knew and she asked how the markings were and if we had any trouble with the course. After telling her it was perfect we ended up totally missing a turn and went off course, thankfully we came to a road after about 1/8 mile and discovered our error! When we got back on course we saw how embarrassingly obvious the marking was and have no idea how we missed it but thought the timing was pretty comical! Needless to say I more carefully watched the markings from here on out. We had passed several runners but I don't recall being passed by anyone else after mile 13.
Miles 17-22: Mile 17 passes back through the course start and there was an aid station here. I topped off my water again, added some more Tailwind and grabbed 1/4 PB&J sandwich, which I had a little trouble getting down. We were back to the hilliest part of the course and did a lot of power hiking on the uphills. At this point my quads and knees were starting to scream on the downhills. We stopped briefly at the mile 20 Aid Station where I sipped on some plain water, then off to keep tackling those hills. We arrived back at Horse Camp, mile 22.3, where I found Travis and had him take my drop bag since I figured I wouldn't need anything from it.
Miles 22-27: Brian and I took off from Horse Camp and continued together for about another mile or so. I figured he would drop me sooner or later but he actually told me to go ahead and I reluctantly did. After we parted ways I ran on my own for the duration.This section didn't feel nearly as flat as it had the first time through, but I managed to drop my pace down a little for a few miles. I was about to enter mileage that I had never reached before and it was starting to get tough.
Miles 27-29.8: I stopped at the Aid Station just before mile 27 and just topped off my water bottle and grabbed a Kleenex for my nose that had been runny, food did not even cross my mind at this point. There were a few rolling hills during this section and I ran/jogged them as much as I could just to get them over with!
Miles 29.8-33: One last stop at Horse Camp where I topped off my water and ate 3 potato chips because salt sounded good. I called Travis after I left the aid station to give him my ETA. I thought I only had about 3 miles left at that point but it was closer to 4 so he had to wait a little longer than the 30 minute warning I optimistically gave him. The 2nd loop seemed a lot hillier toward the end than I remember and the last 3 miles felt like forever! I never felt like quitting but by mile 30 I was questing why I was doing this! At mile 31, which is true 50k distance, I was questioning why I picked a long 50k!
Mile 33-33.6: I saw that last mile marker sign and knew that I just needed to make it up one last hill and I would be there. It felt like the longest 1/2 mile of my life, but I managed to pick up the pace and finish strong. Travis was at the top of the hill, and the finish line was just around the corner. I was so happy to see him and I tried as hard as I could to smile while he took these pictures!
I crossed the finish line and tried to keep moving for a few minutes before picking out my medallion. The finish area was pretty quiet, just a couple dozen people around, which was nice because Travis got to be right there waiting for me. I was tired and my legs were dead, but overall I didn't feel horrible. Brain was the next finisher after me so when he came in we talked again and he offered me a beer, but my stomach wasn't ready so I let Travis enjoy the beer with him instead. After all he got up early and waited around for 6 hours while I was out running so he probably deserved and needed a beer more than me! About 30 minutes later I was ready to go get a beer and some real food!
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| They brand your chosen wood medallion with your finish distance when you're done |
My thoughts about this race:
On race day I keep the display screen of my Garmin on time of day so I don't focus on watching my pace, instead I try to run by feel. I'm not fast enough to win any races and I'm perfectly fine with that. My main goal these days is to run fast enough to get a decent time, but slow enough to enjoy the time. If you don't enjoy it, what's the point, right?! For the most part I really enjoyed the run so I would say it was a success! I feel like this was a great choice for my 1st ultramarathon even though the course is on the longer side for a 50k. The elevation change, while larger than I'm used to, was really not too extreme and the course was all very runable. The event was very well organized and the volunteers and Aid Stations were amazing!
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| Amazing spreads at the Aid Stations... too bad I'm not an eater while I run! |
Race Results:
Based on my "training" I predicted I would finish in 5.5 - 6 hours.
With an official time of 5:42:02, I ended up being the 4th female and 15th overall out of 92 50k finishers.
Overall average pace: 10:10, average moving pace: 9:58, fastest mile 8:15, slowest mile 12:15
The great thing about ultra running is that nobody even really cares about your finish time, it seems to be much less about competition and more about camaraderie.
Race Day Fuel:
1 cup of coffee at 4:15 am.
Bagel with peanut butter 2 hours prior to start and sipped on about 1 cup of water.
During the race I consumed a total of 400 calories of Tailwind (1/4 of which were caffeinated) with approximately 60-80 oz. of water
1/4 banana
3 pretzels
1/4 PB&J sandwich
3 potato chips
I was also carrying a package of Honeystingers but never even thought about taking them and had an additional 200 calories of Tailwind that I did not use. Food does not go down or sit well with me while running and I honestly think I could have skipped the little bit I did try to eat and been fine with nothing but Tailwind.
I was stiff when I got up the next morning and the first time going down our 16 stairs was very slow and painful but within a half hour of getting out of bed I was already starting to loosen up. My quads were the most sore, however not even nearly as sore as they were after Boston. Surprisingly my calves weren't too bad, especially considering they were starting to tighten up less than half way through the race. The more I moved around the better, if I sat for too long on Sunday my quads got stiff. Monday DOMS set in a little and I was probably the most sore this day, but the more I walked around the better I felt. I did some walking, but took 3 full days off from running, Wednesday night I will attempt a very slow run and ease back in from there.
Training: While I say I didn't technically train for this, I didn't just jump into it completely unprepared since this race was on my radar. I had been running an average of 30-40+ miles per week since June. 80% of these miles were slow and I focused on keeping a low heart rate to build up my aerobic endurance. I had done really no speed training since before running the Fargo Marathon in May. I did long runs including 18.6 miles on trails, 18 road miles with rolling hills, 26 miles mostly on trails, 21 miles mostly on trails, 20 road miles, 27 miles mostly trails (after running 10 miles the night before), 19 miles on the trails at Afton State Park after 8.5 miles of trails the night before, then back to back 10 mile runs the weekend before the race. Long run and mileage wise my training was good, however next time I know I need to do speed-work and a lot more hill training.
